Deeper than the Heart
by Girl of the Islands
Summary: Naruto has finally stopped searching for Sasuke, but the memory of the pale raven continues to haunt him and he falls unto a dark path no one expected. Falling prey to a deadly poison, Naruto is slowly receding from this world and only one man has the power to save him and yet only a shadow still exists of the man.
1. By the time this scar heals

Hi, everyone! This is a story that was abandoned and taken down a long time ago. Now, it's revamped and even more awesome!

Full Summary: Naruto has finally stopped searching for Sasuke, but the memory of the pale raven continues to haunt him and he falls unto a dark path no one expected. Three years after the end of his search, he falls prey to a deadly poison that threatens to take his life and release the Kyuubi. The village is quickly thrown into an uproar trying to find the cause and stop the process. Only one man has the power to save him and yet no one has heard of the raven, only a shadow of the man still exists. Naruto is slowly receding from this world and there is nothing that can be done...

Disclaimer: All rights to the characters and all else related to the franchise Naruto goes to the creators of Naruto. I do not make any money creating stories from based off Naruto.

**_Chapter 1: By the time this scar heals, I'll be with you_**

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_Heavy rain fell onto the two figures standing atop the statues in the Valley of End. Puffs of breath were visible as shoulders began to sag. The long battle was beginning to take effect. Multiple wounds littered the bodies, staining their clothes with blood. Their arms hung at their sides, unable to lift another weapon or form another seal. Their battle was finally coming to a close._

_A lone arm rose, a katana poised towards the sagging figure across from it. "This is where our game of cat and mouse must come to an end."_

_A flash of lightning exploded across the sky and danced across the outstretched blade. Even through the rain, obsidian eyes could see the tears that streamed down whisker marred cheeks. After six years, it was time for their game of chase to end._

_"Good-bye Naruto."_

Deep blue eyes snapped open and frantically searched their surroundings expecting to still be in that dark valley. However, all that surrounded him was white. Slowly, complete vision returned to the young man and he quickly deduced he was back in Konoha, the hospital to be specific. Tears soon followed at the realization, he was back in Konoha, alive and alone.

A tan hand reached up to his chest and touched the bandages that covered his torso. Nails tore at the bandages exposing the scarred yet healed flesh above his heart. "_It's gone_." Movement stopped for a few minutes before a loud cry filled the room. Naruto began to claw at the flesh, fresh scratches appearing on his skin.

A door slammed open, a blonde woman rushed to Naruto's side and pulled his wrist away from his chest. However, his fingers continued to make clawing motions and the tears intensified.

"It can't, not yet," a weakened and fragile voice spoke and unseeing eyes continued to water.

Tsunade, thinking he meant the injury he had reopened, began to heal the wound. Naruto shook his head back and forth as his now free hand came back up to his chest to tear at the flesh once more. "It hurts."

Tsunade stared at the youth beneath her. He was barely recognizable. His once vibrant and shining blue eyes were dulled, almost dead. His once strong and loud voice was now frail and quiet. Her once bouncing ball of energy looked so miserable and defeated, she was afraid he'd break.

Her eyes traveled to his clawing hand and realized in an instant what he was doing. She grabbed both his arms and pinned them down. "Naruto you have to stop!" She cried, "Let the fox heal you."

"No! It can't! He's not here," Naruto screamed in a sudden burst of power.

"Naruto, please stop. I'm begging you please. Don't fall onto the path of self-destruction. I won't let you!" Tsunade said as her hands caressed Naruto's tear stained faced.

"It's gone, _he's gone_, it hurts so much, Baachan," Naruto cried as the wound on his chest began to close up. His tears continued to fall with no end in sight as the beast inside of him continued to repair his body. "I don't want it to go away"

Tsuande's eyes widened when it finally dawned on her. Naruto didn't want his wound from Sasuke to heal. "Why? Naruto, why? He's hurt you so much, he tried to kill you. Why? He's not worth it, Naruto. He doesn't deserve it."

"I can't keep chasing him, this last time showed me that, but I don't want him to go away," Naruto said as tears racked his body and it began to tremble from the force of his sobs.

"Why?" Tsunade exclaimed as she shook Naruto, trying to get some sense into him.

Naruto was silent as he stared up at the ceiling and his tears finally stopped. Tsunade watched as Naruto slowly turned his gaze to her and she almost flinched at the almost dead look in them. His eyes glistened his unshed tears as he finally found his voice. "_I love him_."

Tsunade watched as Naruto continued to repeat those three words before finally tears erupted once more. All she could do was hold him. She brought him close to her, hoping her love for him would transfer to him and give home some comfort.

Naruto continued to shed tears as he slowly drifted to sleep in his grandmother's arms. Tsunade laid Naruto him on the bed and her tears finally sprouted forth as she ran her hands through his blonde locks.

"I can't promise that you'll be able to be Hokage if you continue to love him. You'll have to give up everything for him and I won't let you do that. I refuse to see you so broken again. I'd rather kill that man than let him anywhere near you, that I promise."

_By the time this scar heals, I'll be with you_.

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Wow, intense first chapter/prologue! Review for more.

**_ First 3 reviewers__ get a sneak peak preview of the next chapter!_**


	2. If not, It Means I've Failed

Hi, everyone! Thank you to all who reviewed, added my story to you favorites, and put it in your alerts. I love getting a lot of feedback, it makes me want to continue and update even faster!

_Chapter 2: If not, It Means I've Failed_

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A blonde ANBU with a fox mask, walked leisurely back into Konoha village. As he walked by the check point at the front of the gate he walked up to greet the two guards.

"Afternoon, Naruto-san," one guard spoke as he watched the blonde go through the chakra identification.

A gloved hand pulled the mask to the side as blue eyes were revealed to the guards. "No need to be formal, it's just me!" A cheery voice responded.

"But it'd be rude to greet the future hokage without some form of respect," the other guard responded jokingly.

Naruto waved a hand back and forth in a dismissive manner as a slight blush appeared on his cheeks. "Hey now, I'm not that important. I'm just like you guys, so no honorifics," Naruto reprimanded with a fake reprimanding tone.

All three of the shinobi burst into laughter. "Welcome back Naruto."

Naruto beamed at them as he walked towards the Hokage Tower and slipped his ANBU mask back on. Sighing and letting the smile slip from his face, Naruto began to think of how little the villagers really knew about him' about how much he has changed.

Three years ago, Uchiha Sasuke had just come short of killing the blond. Although, he may not have killed him physically, his spirit had died on that fateful day. His smiles weren't no longer bright as the sunshine, his laughter that once lifted the spirits of the most miserable person was hollow and lifeless. All that was left was a shell of once was, a shell that was on the verge of breaking at any moment. To the village, he was the same bubbly blond. No one could ever tell, he ad the perfeect mask.

In those three years, Naruto had thrown himself into the ninja world. He'd take mission after mission, just to get away from the village. He went on missions ranking from simple B class all the way to S class. He'd take anything as long as it distracted him from the pain in his chest, as long as he could remove himself from the thoughts of his mind.

However, no one knew the reason he took the missions. The entire village just viewed him as a zealous shinobi, striving to reach his life long goal of Hokage.

That may have been his goal as a child, but he knew now, that wasn't possible. If he couldn't save one of his friends, some one he held so dear to his heart, how could he ever hope to be Hokage? No, the dream of Hokage, was long lost, for him. Now, he just wanted to protect and serve. Forget the pain and move on, at least he tries to do so.

After Naruto was finished giving his report to Tsunade, he decided to take a walk just to clear his mind of all thought and relax. He let his feet lead the way and allowed his mind to simply wander. Yet, he slowly found himself in front of the Uchiha compound. Blue eyes searched the area and quickly came to the conlcusion that there was not a soul in sight.

Naruto chuckled lightly and shook his head. What was he thinking, being so cautious? No one ever came here, the Uchiha Compound was just a bad memory, best left forgotten.

He took a cautious step into the compound. The place looked a lot better than one would assume considering no one had lived there for nine years. The destruction of the war had completely missed the place so everything was still standing at least. However, long term neglect had allowed the plants to overtake the place. Vines crawled the walls and support beams, some breaking into the house through the windows and doors. Weeds littered the roads to the point that they were no longer visible. Roots of large trees were emerging from the ground, breaking away at the walls that surrounded the compound and houses.

Naruto ignored all this and continued down the path he had memorized long ago. He finally stopped at the main house, Sasuke's house, and began the work he loved to do. Naruto cleared all the weeds and cut down any vines that were wrapped around the house. When he was satisfied with the outside look of the home, he went inside and cleaned up the house, dusting and sweeping away any grime.

He always came here when he needed to completely clear his head and get away from the world. He could leave the fake smiles and laughs behind, completely dropping the act. Naruto sighed as he went through most of the rooms in the house before finally stopping in front of the door he knew was the entrance to Sasuke's room.

In the nine years he had been coming to the compound, never once did he step foot or even open the door to this one room. He knew that if he did, all the pain would come crashing down on him and he'd completetly break. Naruto gently placed his hands on the door and then his forehead. Tears began to stream down his face as the pain in his chest, that never seemed to really go away, intensified as the look in Sasuke's face as he said good-bye flash through his mind. "Where, are you?" Naruto whispered as he fell to the floor and allowed the pain and regret to wash over him.

His hands were clenched into fists as he banged on the door. Tears streamed down his face and splashed to the floor."You're a liar!" passed through his lips. "You're such a liar!" Naruto screamed as his upper body collapsed onto his folded knees. His fists continued to hit the door in frustration and anger.

At times like these, when the pain became too much and simply over whelmed him, Naruto wished that someone could hold him. Someone who truly knew what he was going through, but he knew no one would come. No one ever came to him during these times, the times when he needed some one the most, but it would never be the right one anyway.

Naruto imagined those pale arms that would wrap around him during wrestling, wrapping around him now in a warm and comforting embrace. Those arms that supported him when he really needed it in the past, but were no longer here.

Naruto thought of those rare smiles that he was always graced with during those secret practices they had away from Kakashi-sensei and Sakura. Those smiles that only came when they both accomplished something great together and were excited for each other.

Naruto curled into a ball leaning against the outside of Sasuke's door, before throwing his head back against the door and letting out a laugh. This was a laugh like no other, it was hollow and filled with pain. It was a laugh that should never leave even the most twisted person's lips. His hand slipped under his shirt and his hand rested over the space above his heart and began to claw at the flesh, creating new gashes over old ones.

"Even though we've said good-bye you still haunt me. Why do you have such a strong hold on my heart?" Naruto asked pitifully as his tears finally stopped and his bloodied hand fell to the floor. He slowly drifted off to a sleep filled of the most horrible nightmares or maybe the sweetest dreams.

_"Naruto, wake up," a smooth voice whispered._

_Naruto's eyes fluttered open but his vision was blurry. All he could see was the silhouette of a dark yet pale figure leaning over him. A smile graced Naruto's lips as he lifted one tan hand to rest gently on the figure's cheek._

_"Sasuke," Naruto mumbled._

_The pale figure turned his face and placed a kiss on Naruto's palm. "I'm here."_

_Naruto's blurry vision cleared and before him was the man that haunted his dreams."Where have you been?"_

_A smirk graced the raven's features as he leaned in closer to the blond. "I've always been here."_

_A kiss was placed upon reddened lips as pale hands were tangled into sunshine hair._

_"Sasuke," Naruto groaned as he felt the hold on his hair loosen._

_"I'm here, but not for long, I must go soon," Sasuke murmured against Naruto's lips._

_Naruto didn't have time to even think about what he had just been told before lightning blue flashed before his vision. Naruto knew immeidately where he was this time. It was the scene of his last fight with the raven._

_Standing before him, in all his glory, was Sasuke, his sword held high, poised to attack._

_Naruto looked away as he felt the lightning blade pierce his chest. Naruto turned his head back to Sasuke as the blade was pushed further into him. Sasuke's lips began to move, saying words that were etched into Naruto's mind since the frist time he heard them._

_Naruto cried out and tried to reach towards Sasuke as he pulled away and turned his back on the blonde._

_"SASUKE!"_

Even in his unconscious state, Naruto's hand reached over to the place above his heart and clawed at the space. Tears continuing to steam down his face, Naruto's lips moved and mumbled his name over and over again like a sad mantra, just waiting for some one to appear, but knowing they never would.

Hours later, Tsunade stood over a scrunched up ball of orange and yellow. Her eyes scanned the blonde and shook her head when she noticed the blood on his hand. Sighing, Tsunade shook the young man's shoulder until he began to stir. Swiftly, Tsunade left and hid outside of the entrance to the house.

Five minutes later, Naruto walked out of the house looking like he was about to collapse on his feet either because of exhaustion from being here or his mission, Tsunade was not sure. Naruto sluggishly left the compound in the direction of his house and Tsunade let out a burdened sigh. When would Naruto move on? The Uchiha had already rejected him, his attempt at killing Naruto had made it quite clear that he didn't not want the blond anywhere near him.

These out bursts were wearing on the boy. Tsunade knew, she could see the signs of Naruto beginning to tear at the seams. She didn't know how much longer she could just sit back and watch as Naruto fell into darkness. How muh longer before he fell to the bottom? Where no one would be able to reach him.

Naruto continued to walk in a hazy blur until he reached his home. The moment he got in, pale arms wrapped around him and his face was buried into a hard chest.

"I was worried about you," a silky voice whispered into his ear as the hold on him loosened.

Naruto grimaced, he returned to his home a lot later than he had planned. Leaning up, Naruto wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. "I'm sorry I made you worry Sai," Naruto stated as he placed a kiss on rough lips.

Sai's eyes widened, when he felt a sticky liquid on his neck. Pulling away, he grabbed Naruto's wrists and looked at his hands to see the blood that caked his right hand. Growling under his breath, the pale man dragged his boyfriend to their bathroom and forced him to sit on the toilet seat. Sai pulled Naruto's shirt off and flinched at the angry red marks just above Naruto's heart. Some of them were just scars while others were still bleeding, and some were so deep Sai could almost see the bone.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" Sai asked as he grabbed the first aid kit Tsunade had given him after the first few times this had happened.

"It's gone," Naruto mumbled weakly as Sai applied disinfectant to the wounds.

"I know," Sai replied as he started to wrap new bandages around Naruto's torso.

"He made it disappear," the blonde grumbled as Sai secured the bandages.

"Yes, he did," Sai said as he inspected his work to make sure it was secure.

"I did't want it to," Naruto said hollowly as he began to slump forward.

Sai let out a heavily burdened sigh as he straightened Naruto up and started cleaning his hand. He'd had this conversation so many times with Naruto after one of his "episodes" he knew every line and knew exactly how to reply so the blonde wouldn't go into another fit. "You don't have to keep suffering."

"It's the only way to dull the ache," Naruto stated as his eyes watched with rapt fascination as the blood stains on his hands were wiped clean. Naruto wrapped his arm around Sai and buried face in Sai's neck. "Make it go away," Naruto whispered as he clung onto the pale man before him.

Sai pulled Naruto into his arms bridal style and carried the broken blonde into his room. He gently laid him upon the bed and leaned over him to begin the process of "making it go away." He undressed the blonde completely before discarding his own clothes. He knew he should not being do this, it wasn't right, but Naruto would always beg for him to do it. Naruto's sad dull eyes would look straight into his own dark obsidians and he couldn't refuse.

The first time Naruto asked Sai to do this he was over joyed, thinking the blonde was finally beginning to move on. To his sorrow, Naruto began to cry the Uchiha's name. He knew in that instant that Naruto wasn't looking at him; the blonde was seeing the reflection of Sasuke in him. He felt disgusted and wanted to leave at that moment but looking at the broken down blonde, Sai could not bring it upon himself to even get up. Naruto's far away eyes were so different and unlike anything Sai had seen on the blonde. At that moment, he made it his mission to get rid of that look.

However, it never worked. Naruto wouldn't look at him but through him. His cries were always directed at some one else, his tears for some one else, his pain by some one else. The person who had left his print on the blonde was not Sai. It was a dark raven, who's red eyes had peirced the blonde's heart and held his spirit captive.

Sai sighed as Naruto finally drifted to sleep, tears still staining his face. Sai stood from the bed to retrieve a few wet cloths to clean Naruto. He erased all traces that anything ever happened. Naruto would never remember these events the next morning. Naruto didn't even know that Sai knew about his outbursts. The next day Naruto would go on about his day, smiles and laughs like every other day. No, Naruto didn't know that Sai had been his rock fo rthe past two years. He didn't know that it was Sai that had been comforting and holding him during the times he had fallen into darkness.

Once he was done, he went into the shower to clear his head. In the shower, Sai watched as the sticky substances on his body were washed away.

"Dang it!" He cried as he punched the wall next to him. Why did Naruto never want to truly be with him? Why did Naruto have to choose him? He knew the answers.

Naruto saw the resemblance to Sasuke and in his attempts at trying to move on, he was just hurting more people. Sai felt more like a baby sitter or a simple convenience rather than a lover or boyfriend. It hurt him more than is comprehensible to see those far away looks directed straight at him than anything else.

He'd gotten the urge to leave the blonde so many times after seeing those looks. But he never could, unlike that Uchiha snake, he could never leave the blonde alone. He loved him too much to ever turn his back. Naruto needed him more than he knew and as long as possible Sai was going to stay next to him. He'd protect Naruto from ever getting hurt again and one day he hoped he could help to heal he large hole left by that dark raven.

Sai got out of the shower and prepared himself for bed before climbing in next to the blonde. He wrapped his arms around the tan figure and pulled him against his chest. Yes, he'd protect this already broken ray of sunshine from crumbling to the ground and disappearing forever.

_If not, it means I've failed_

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Thank you so much for reading the second chapter of this story!_** I don't know if I should give a sneak preview this time. What do you guys think? There's a poll on my profile, so go there and cast your vote!**_


	3. And I Don't Deserve You

Hello my lovely readers! Here is the next Chapter!_  
_

_Chapter 3: And I don't Deserve You_

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_The next morning found Sai in the kitchen making breakfast. He allowed his mind to wander as he prepared the food. He began to muse over the events of last ngiht and let out a burdened sigh. He didn't know how much longer he could with stand these out bursts. They were beginning to wear on him and yet he couldn't leave the blonde, he didn't trust anyone else with the fragile broken boy._

_Tan arms wrapped around his waist and red lips tickled his ear. "Good morning," a voice laced with sleep whispered into his ear and more weight was pushed into his back._

_Turning his head slightly, Sai placed a chaste kiss on those red lips. "Good morning to you too," Sai replied as he wiggled out of the blond's arms to get serving bowls. "Since your recent mission seems to have drained you a bit, I though a good bowl of miso ramen, would help," Sai stated as he pushed the bowl into the blond's hands._

_Naruto beamed at his boyfriend as he moved to sit at the kitchen table to eat his food. "Thank you very much," Naruto remarked as he sloppily dug into his food._

_Sai smiled at the blonde as he sat across from him, watching the messy blonde gobble up all the food._

_Naruto stopped inhaling his food and looked at the dark haired man. "What?"_

_Sai reached across the table and placed a pale hand onto a cheek to wipe away a stray peie of seaweed. "I love you, you know that right?"_

_Naruto turned his head to the side and placed a small kiss upon the pale palm. "I ...like you."_

_Sai frowned as he removed his hand from the blonde's cheek. "Oh," he sighed, disappointment evident in his voice. "After last night, I just though that maybe..."_

_"What are you talking about? I got back from my mission and you were already asleep," Naruto stated with a confused looked ecthed onto his fetures._

Sai awoke with a start and swiftly left the room to o to the terrace. He leaned against the railing and tried to clear his mind of the dream he'd had, or rather a retelling of a memory. That was the morning after the first time Naruto had asked him to be with him. He had been so happy until the words of confusion passed those pink lips. His hopes had shattered at that moment thinking of what he had just done, of how he had taken advantage of the blonde.

At that time, he couldn't bring himself to tell Naruto what happened and he still couldn't. He would do as the blonde asked and never say a word unless the blonde himself brought it up. It was his little secret, and he'd keep it that way. It was the only time he could fully connect with the blonde, at least physically. It ws the only way he could ully connect with the blonde, his heart was untouchable, his mind unreadable, and his actions unpredictable. ONly through the body could Sai even get close to that one thing he wanted but could never have.

Letting out a big breath of air, Sai stared up at the stars and let a smile cross his lips. Naruto may no longer be the sun but to Sai, he was a star, shining in the darkness with just enough light to lead the way. However, one day that star would fall to the earth and never return to the skies. Sai just hoped that he'd be the one to find fallen star when t came down.

After staring at the stars for a few more minutes, Sai finally walked back into the apartment and stood before the bed. He contemplated jsut sleeping on the couch but that wouldn't be right. Naruto would be disoriented and confused when he woke up, Sai needed to be here.

Getting under the covers, Sai tried to curl himself aroun the blonde man. However, his motions stopped when he felt a warm, sticky liquid on his fingers. Getting out of bed, Sai went to get the first aid kit, thinking Naruto's wounds had just reopened.

Sai pulled the covers off the blonde and immediately flinched back. There was blood every where. It wasn't just by the blonde's chest but by his stomach and it was pooling fast. Quickly, Sai wrapped the blonde in his arms and ran across the village to the hospital.

The night nurse gasped in shock at the blood covered man. She quickly signalled the emergency room and rushed to prepare an operation room.

Naruto was ripped away from Sai as multiple doctors and nurses ran about getting everything they would need in order to save thte blonde.

"Someone call Lady Tsunade," a doctor shouted before disappearing into the O.R.

_How did this happen to my blond? Why didn't I notice earlier?_ Sai could do nothing to prevent these thoughts as he stared wordlessly at his bloodied hands.

The thunderous beating of feet racing through the halls filled the air as Tsunade, Ino, Hinata, and Sakura stormed through the Hospital in search of the blonde. They easily spotted Sai and gasped at the blood on his hands and clothes.

Tsunade, Hinata, and Sakura practically teleported into the Operation room while Ino went to Sai's side. Ino pulled a few wet wipes from her pouch and began to wipe away the blood from Sai's hands as he continued to stare into oblivion. When she was done, she leaned forward so she good get a good look at Sai. The only word to describe him at the moment was haunted. He was huanted by the things that he probably could have done and the regrets that sure swelled up inside of him at the sight of the bloodied blonde.

Ino placed her hands on top of his and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, don't look like that. He's not dead,Tsunade will heal him," Ino stated with a smile, hoping the look of hopelessness would leave the man's eyes.

Sai turned his eyes towards her and just shook his head. "No, you didn't see the blood. It was everywhere and it just wouldn't stop. He wasn't healing either. It was just a constant pour of blood," Sai said as his eyes became faraway once again.

A door slamming open made Ino turn her head towards the operating room. Sakura stood there and signalled for Ino to come in.

Quickly standing and leaving Sai's side, Ino disappeareed behind that white door, not once looking back at the broken pale raven.

As the minutes ticked away, other shinobi began to appear at the hospital, the news of Nruto's injuries spreading quickly through the village. Sai ignored all this and remained silent and brooding, away from the crowds of people.

In Sai's mind, he just continued to replay the events of the ngiht, trying and failing to understand how he could have missed something as obivous as pudles of blood. He was sleeping right next to the man! This had to be some cruel joke, punishment for taking advantage of the blonde during his times of weakness.

In the operating room, Naruto's body was surrounded by doctors and nurses. There were machines hooked up to every part of him that was possible and needles sticking into him from every direction. It was utter chaos. Everyone was rushing around trying to at least stem the bleeding before he bled out. Half the needles were focused on giving the blonde blood but it only seemed to make things worse. At the very least, the doctors were able to establish that there were multiple slash wounds along his torso clipping various vital points.

Tsunade burst inot the room and quickly shooed away the unneccesary doctors and got to work with Hinata and Sakura by her side. "What's his current status?" Tsunade asked as she slipped on her gloves and tried to assess the situation through all the blood.

"He's bleeding out and there doesn't seem a way to stop it," a doctor said as he was pressing gauze over one of the deepers woundes.

"There also seems to be soemthing wrong with the Kyuubi because his wounds aren't healing at their normal rate," another doctor stated from the sidelines.

Tsunade nodded as she looked upon the bloody mess of her psuedo grandson. He was unrecognizable. His once tan skin was slowly losing it's color and it was splashed with blood. He looked completely broken and it seemed there was nothing they could do about it. The world's brightest ray of sunshine was slowly receeding from this world.

The blonde Hokage began to examine the wounds on the blonde's chest. _These aren't self-inflicted._ Tsuande thought as she took a closer look at a wound by the blonde's chest. And even he can't hold back the Kyuubi to this extent. There's soemthing very wrong here.

"I need Ino in here, this might be a poison," Tsuande barked as she began to work on healing some of the bigger gashes.

As soon as Ino stepped into the operation room, she began to work on trying ot identify if it truly was the work of a poison. She started going over one of the wounds and looking for traces of any foreign substances.

After hours of work and trying to close up the wounds, it was finally safe enough for everyone to at least breathe. The bleeding had stopped and the blood transfusions were working. Many of the doctors and nurses had to switch back and forth healing so they wouldn't drain their chakra. Most of the wounds were stitched close and others were wrapped in gauze, His body was hooked up to at least six different machines and five different I.V. drips. It wasn't a pretty sight at all, but Naruto was out of the woods. However, they had still not been able to identify the cause of the wounds but Naruto was stable and that was what mattered most at the moment.

"I want a full blood scan and chakra scan, identify what could be wrong as soon as posisble, we don't know if this stable state is permanent or temporary," Tsunade ordered as she began to remove her gloves and clean up the giant mess they had created. "He needs to be moved to an isolated room, his weakened state could mean trouble with the fox and I want Captian Yamato here as well."

With the orders given, the doctors and nurses began to move once more to accomplish the tasks assigned to them. Sakura decided she should walk out and tell everyone the news of Naruto's stability.

Everyone seemed to have let out one giant sigh of relief at the news that naruto was stable and recovering. It was the best news they could have recieved at the moment. Their little blonde would be able to live another day.

"Do you know what caused this? Was it fro..."

Sakura shook her head sadly, "No, there is no evidence whatsoever as to what could have happened. All we know is that there were multiple lacerations and his blood was thinned."

"Can we see him?" Iruka inquired with a shakey voice.

"At the moment, we can not allow anyone to see him. His multiple wounds make him very susceptible to infections. In addition due to his weakened state there is a chance that the kyuubi could escape," Sakura explained.

Everyone nodded in understanding as Sakura disappeaered back into the operation room. Sai sunk into a chair and for the first time in his entire life he was an open book. Completely totally and utterly readable. The pain and relief were the biggest factors but also the burdens and regrets that showed with his body languauge. Iruka walked up to him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulders.

"It'll be alright. Naruto is the strongest of us all," Iruka supplied with a soft smile.

Suddenly there was a series of very loud noises and an influx of chakra from the operating room. Nurses and some doctors ran out as ANBU flooded in. The waiting ninja rushed in after them to see what was going on. The scene was horrific.

The room was in shambles, there were burn marks all over the walls. Anything around Naruto was completely destroyed. Parts of the ceiling looked like they were about to collapse. There were bodies on the floor that were beyond recognition. But the worst sight of all was the blonde man on the operating table.

Naruto was still on the operating table, but it didn't look like him one bit. The bandages and stitches were on the floor around the operating table as a black and red ooze poured out from the open wounds. Naruto's body was arched up and convulsing as cough after cough, blood spewed out of his mouth. His face was contorted to match that of a foxes and his fingernails were sharp claws. Coming out of the seal on his stomach was tendrils of black and red that swirled around his body and destroyed everything it touched.

A group of ANBU tried to get close but found themselves severly burned by the black tendrils. Any time some one tried to even take a step with three feet of the blond they found themselves attacked. It was a horrendous battle.

"The ceiling might collapse! Evacuate the hospital as quick as possible!" someone screamed.

Chouji and his father held up the cieling with great strain as they were hit continusouly with raw chakra.

"Everyone get out now!"

"We're not leaving him," some of Naruto's friends screamed as they tried to get nearer to the blonde.

Naruto's coughs continued to echo through the room as the sheer suffocating power forced people to leave the room. Blood was all over the floor and it just didn't seem to stop.

Everyone was forced to watch as there was nothing they could do to help their friend. They couldn't get close without bringing themselves to the brink of death by the poisonous chakra leaking from the blonde.

His coughs suddenly died down and everything around the blonde disappeared. He just laid there with his eyes wide open. Sai and few of the others, believing it was safe to approach, walked slowly and cautiously towards the blonde. Sai was the first to reach the blonde and just as he put his hand out to touch the blonde, he and any others were pushed back as a sudden wave of chakra errupted from the blonde.

Naruto's entire body looked like a perfect arch as a loud roar filled the air. Naruto's fingers were clawing at the space just above his heart as his roar continued to echo throughout the village. In one second though, it was all over. A single wet cough filled the air as the last of Naruto's life essence escaped him. His body flopped down onto the table and his arms fell from the table.

Sai watched through hazy eyes as the blond turned his head towards him. Sai did not recognize the person he saw at that moment. Once clear ocean blue eyes, were now dull and murky flecked with red. Blood covered every inch of the blonde. His face was still contorted to look like the fox, it scared Sai to see his once beautiful blonde look so dead and broken.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't love you," Naruto murmured weakly as his eyes began to close.

Sai barely caught it but he did and in an instant he was at the blonde's side. For the first time in his life, Sai felt real true emotions. As he looked upon that broken ray of sunshine, Sai felt love swell in his chest, but with it came an immense pain. The blond was leaeving him. Tears streaked down his face as he stroked Naruto"s cheek and held one of his hands. No, it most defininitely couldnÕt be posisble.

"No, you can't go," Sai cried as he leaned over his blonde and placed a chaste kiss upon blood stained lips. "Don't leave me."

All of a sudden, Sai was pulled away from Naruto and replaced by Tsunade barking orders. Sai watched as the blonde was rolled away to a different room with twenty doctors follwing him. Soon the blonde disappeared from his vision and Sai dropped to his knees, in utter silence. There was nothing left he could do.

_And I don't deserve you_

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Sad! I know, don't kill me! There's still more to come! Quite a lot more!


	4. It Means I've Left This World

Hi Peoples! Thanks for all the reviews and what not. Made me want t update faster! So here we are!

Chapter 4: It means I've Left This World

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Sai continued to stare at nothing as his body continued to sag on the floor of the destroyed hospital wing. He didn't even notice the aproach of a certain dog loving shinobi. Sai was swiftly slammed against a wall, Kiba's forearms pressed into his throat and his face twisted into a snarl.

"What did you do to him?" Kiba demanded as he bared his fances at the pale man.

Sai didn't even flinch, he didn't even struggle to get out of the hold the brunette had on him. He continued to stare, almost lifelessly, ahead of him, not really seeing anything, not really feeling anything.

"Answer me!" Kiba yelled as he switched his forearm with a kunai.

"Kiba!" Iruka yelled as he ran down the hall towards the duo. "Let him go!"

The Inuzuka ignored the man as pressed the kunai harder into Sai's throat drawing blood. The pain of the kunai snapped Sai back into reality. His eyes moved to look directly into dark brown pools. Kiba almost flinched at the dead and lifeless look in those dark orbs.

"Kill me," Sai demanded as he bared his neck even more.

"Gladly," Kiba growled a he pushed the kunai deeper into the man's throat and more blood oozed out.

"Kiba!" Kakashi yelled as he pulled the dog boy off the pale man.

Sai dropped to the floor and didn't even move to cover his wound.

"Iruka, go get him patched up," Kakashi demanded.

Iruka rushed to the raven's side and pulled him up, walking him swiftly out of the room.

"Why are you letting him go?" Kiba asked as he struggled to get free from the grip Kakashi had on his shoulder.

"This is not how you handle your anger, don't take it out on the man you simply don't approve of. Find the real cause and take it out on him," Kakashi stated as he removed his hand from the man.

Naruto's body was rushed down the hall and into an isolated and foritfied area of the hospital. Nurses were scrambling to get supplies needed to patch the blonde up and hooking him up to I.V.s and various machines. The doctors were frantic trying to at least stem the flow of blood that was coming from the blonde. Lady Tsunade was barking out orders left and right and demanding various tools from nurses. All in all, it was a very chaotic sight.

"Get Captain Yamato here now," Tsunade commanded as she started work on closing up a rather large cut just above the Kyuubi seal.

"I'm here Hokage-sama," Captain Yamato greeted as he looked upon the bloodied blonde and flinched away.

"Set up a barrier around this room and be prepared in case the Kyuubi goes berserk," Tsunade ordered.

Yamato quickly got to work as six large wooden columns appeared around the room. Each had a fire burning at the tip with various markings and seals etched along the sides of the columns.

"Get samples of the blackened blood," Tsunade stated as she carefully began to stitch a cut close.

Everyone continued to rush around and try to stabalize the blonde once again. After several hours and a few close encounters with the Kyuubi, Naruto was as close to stabalized that was possible. He looked almost like a mummy with all the bandages wrapped aroud his body. There were even more machines hooked up to the blonde that would alert to even the smallest change. There was an I.V. stand with multiple bags filled with different medicines and some with blood. In addition, he had a mask over his face to help his breathing. The doctors and nurses began to file out of the room, on Tsunade's orders that they needed rest, leaving her, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Yamato.

Yamato looked upon the blonde and he couldn't help but feel saddened. The once tan strong warrior of Konoha was reduced to a pale, weak slab of meat just waiting for death. The captain had seen enough deaths to know that there was possibly no hope for the blonde. He was only prolonging everything for the sake of the people around him. He could already feel the Kyuubi beginning to seep out of the blonde. It wouldn't be too long before Yamato could no longer hold it back.

Tsunade was finally able to take a breather and look upon her grandson. It was a horrible sight to see the bubbling blonde so fragile and muted. She needed to find the cause of whatever this was and fast. Naruto was slowly receeding from this world and she needed to bring him back before it was too late.

"What now lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked as she removed her medical gloves and mask.

Tsunade sighed and turned to her long time student. "Now, we find out the true cause of what this _thing_ is."

Sakura nodded her head in understanding as she left for the lab to study some of the blackened blood. Ino and Hinata were right on her heels, all three of them looking drained but they were still pushing forward for their life long friend.

Tsunade walked over to the bed and placed her hand onto Naruto's forehead. She brushed away the stray strands of hair as she smiled down upon him. Simply looking at his face, he looked only like he was sleeping. His face was relaxed, no hard lines or dark marks marred his face. He looked content almost, as if he wasn't suffering from excruciating pain. Like this, Naruto looked like he was removed from the terror and pain of the world that haunted him for so long.

Tsunade only wished this wasn't an illusion brought on by drugs. She wished he could always look so relaxed and peaceful. However she knew that wasn't possible. Naruto would continue to be haunted by the memories of the past as long as his heart remained in the past. His heart was with some one else from a time long gone, but he refused to let go.

Tsunade was beginning to regret her choices of allowing the blond to do as he wished, hoping he'd be able to forget about the pale raven. She should have been there for Naruto, not hiding in the shadows and watching from the side lines. Tsunade should have stopped him when he became almost addicted to missions. She should have comforted him and held him when he was alone and looking for some one and yet no one was ever there. Maybe, just maybe, if she had been there for him, he wouldn't be like this right now.

He wouldn't be stuck in a hospital bed, more vulnerable than a new born baby. The once proud and strong Naruto was being reduced to this state of such weakness, that he needed help even to breathe.

Silent tears pricked at the corners of Tsunade eyes as she leaned forward, her forehead resting upon his. "You're going to be okay, it's going to be okay," she murmured her words trembling as her throat tightened. The words leaving her mouth were a reassurance to herself, she needed to know that he was going to be okay. She needed to believe that he was strong enough to fight whatever was going on inside him. She needed to see those blue eyes and that bright smile, to know it was going to be okay.

Tsunade placed a kiss upon his forehead as her tears threatened to fall. "I promised to keep you safe and I will no matter the cost," she whispered against his forehead.

Standing upright, Tsunade turned to Yamato, "No one is to hear of this," she commanded as she fixed herself and walked out of the room.

Tsunade walked regally like the Hokage she is, looking strong for her people. She needed to find Sai and ask him what happened. She was surprised to find him in one of the hospital rooms with a nurse wrapping bandages around his neck.

Iruka was there as well acting like the mother hen he always is fussing over Sai who wasn't even reacting to anything the teacher did.

"What's going on here?" She demanded as she made her presences known.

The nurse jumped and gave a quick bow as she finished the bandages. "He had a cut on his throat, so I just cleaned it up and wrapped it, Hokage-sama," the nurse said timidly before bowing and leaving the room.

Tsunade turned to Iruka and raised a questioning brow at him.

Iruka scratched the bridge of his nose and averted looking at the woman. "Kiba sort of...um..." Iruka stumbled trying to find the right words to explain what happened.

"He put a kunai to my throat, blaming me for Naruto's current situation," Sai stated hollowly, shocking Tsunade and Iruka.

"I see," Tsunade said as she observed the pale man before her. He had always seemed cold and hard to read but this time was very different. His eyes were dead, not just cold, rather like the life had just been sucked away. She could clearly tell how all of this was affecting him. Sai was an open book for once and Tsunade was going to try and use this to her advantage.

"Iruka, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the room, I need to talk to Sai," the blonde stated as she sat on a chair in front of the raven.

Iruka looked between Sai and Tsunade for a second before leaving the room, glancing back at Sai just before the door closed.

"I know you don't want to, but I'm going to have to ask that you recount the events of earlier to me. I need to piece together exactly what happened," Tsunade said sternly as she looked Sai in the eye trying to convey to him that she needed his help.

Sai just stared at her, not really looking at her but through her as his mind ran through the events of the night. He was still trying to figure out exactly what happened as well. It was a messy blur that he couldn't make any sense of, all he truly knew was that Naruto was bloody and cut up when he got back to the room.

"He came home with wounds across his chest so I patched him up and then we went to bed. I woke up half way through the night and needed to clear my mind so I went out to the terrace. When I got back, there was just so much blood, it was every where. I paniced and came here," Sai said as he continued to stare beyond anything in the room. The events of the night still continued to play over and over in his mind a broken record player.

"Did you notice anything else?" Tsunade asked, trying to bring has attention back to the present.

"Blood, too much blood," Sai repeated.

Tsunade got a little frustrated at those words. She needed Sai to think, not to be off in oblivion. "Did you notice anything when you got out of bed?" Tsunade inquired once more.

"I...I don't know," Sai murmured, trying for the life of him to go back and see if there were any indication at that time. "I was too out of it."

Tsunade nodded her head as she needed to go over Naruto's missions report then. Sai was not helping too much. "Thank you," she replied as she stood up to leave the room.

She was stopped by a hand wrapping around her wrist. She turned back around to see Sai and she almsot flinched back. He was looking straight at her no longer through her. He was present this time.

"Can I see him?" He asked, desperation evident in his voice.

Tsunade pulled her wrist out of his reach, "I'm sorry, he's not allowed visitors."

With that, Tsunade walked away and back to the Hokage tower.

In the lab, Sakura, Hinata, and Ino were hard at work analyzing the samples from Naruto's blood. Each girl was looking at the blood using different methods of technology and ninjutsu. However, they were no closer to identifying the cause as they were when they first started. They had been going at it for what felt like days and were beginning to wear themselves thin, but they refused to stop. The sooner they knew what the poison or whatever was, the sooner they could heal Naruto.

"I've never seen something like this before," Ino stated as she looked through the microscope.

"What?" Hinata asked as she and Sakura came around to Ino's side of the table.

Ino flipped a switch so a screen turned on and showed what the microscope was seeing. The black ooze was currently unmoving and didn't look like much. "It doesn't react when just on it's own, but when I surge a bit of chakra though it," Ino started as she put some of her chakra into the ooze. The ooze moved towards the chakra and completely absorbed it.

The other two girls jumped back as they watched it happen. "So the black stuff absorbs chakra? That doesn't seem correct," Sakura said as she studied the screen.

"Just keep watching. I'm going to add a bit of Naruto and the Kyuubi's chakra," Ino replied as she moved a sample towards the microscope. As she poured the contents onto the glass slate, they all watched with bated breaths.

The black ooze moved towards the red and blue chakra and tried to absorb it. Once all the chakra was almost gone, the red burst from the ooze. The three girls moved away instantly as the red chakre edestroyed the microscope.

"What just happened?" Sakura asked in astonishment.

"I don't really know, but Tsunade-sama needs to be informed," Hinata stated, "I think we just figured out what's wrong."

In her office, Tsunade was tirelessly going through medical scroll after medical scroll trying to find the answers that she needed. Her desk was littered with papers and scrolls lay in messy heaps on the floor. She had done nothing but read for the past few days, searching for at least a little piece of the puzzle. She searched non stop with only break to go to the hospital, not even the temptation of sake could break her streek.

She needed answers and she needed them now. The last few times she had visited the hospital her heart bled at the sight. Naruto had been thrashing in pain and roars filled the air as Yamato pinned him down. He would tear his wounds open, making any progress step back once more. On more than a few occasions Naruto's heart had to be shocked back to life. He was also on a ventilator as his lungs were having difficulty.

Tsunade wondered if keeping him alive was just making things worse. Eveyrtime she heard his roars of pain, she thought of the suffering he must have been going through and all the pain his body was going through just being able to keep his heart beating and his lungs moving. Was keeping him alive beneficial to him or just to them? Were they just making him endure longer?

Yamato as well was beginning to look worse for wear. She didn't know how much longer he'd be able to hold back the kyuubi. However, it wouldn't be much longer. It was beginning to get harder and harder for him to bring Naruto back to this world. Naruto's body would have to be moved to an isolated area soon, before the kyuubi finally won and Naruto receeded from this world.

Tsunade shook her head to ride herself of these thoguhts. No, she'd continue to push forward and find every piece of this puzzle. She'd continue to fight and look until Naruto's dying breath. She'd promised to keep him safe and she would even if she had to take his place.

Tsunade was snapped out of her thoughts as Sakura, Ino, and Hinata burst into the room. The three girls began to talk all at once, making a chaotic jumbled mess of words that only further Tsunade's irritaion.

Tsunade stood up and slammed her hands onto the desk causing a loud bang to resonate through the air. THe three girls immediately stopped talking and looked in fear at the blonde woman before them. "Shut up and sit down," she ordered, her voice laced with irritation and imaptience.

The three girls rushed to a seat and looked back and forth between each other trying to decide how to put into words what exactly was happening to the blonde in the hospital.

"We've figured out at least some parts of what could be happenning to Naruto," Hinata explained timidly.

"Um...it seems like the black ooze is causing an adverse reaction with the Kyuubi's chakra," Sakura tried to explain as best she could.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tsunade demanded her voice rough with impatience.

"When the Kyuubi chakra mixes with the black substance it causes an almost explosion like reaction," Ino tried to further explain, trying to figure out how to tell Tsunade the results in the best possible way.

Silence filled the air for a few minutes as Tsunade just stared at the girls for a few minutes. "So what ou're trying to tell me is that the Kyuubi is reacting violently to the substance and could be the cause of Naruto's current state?" Tsunade asked.

The three girls nodded silently not sure how to answer the question. Tsunade had explained it better than they had, so there really wasn't much left to stay.

Tsunade took the silence as a confirmation and mulled over the informaiton for a few seconds before something suddenly came into her mind. She quickly began to looked through the scrolls on her desk. Sha finally stopped searching when she came across a red and white scroll. It's wax seal was still hanging off the open end of the scroll. She unrolled the scroll and began to frantically search through the deatils of the scroll .Her eyes darted back and forth in quik succession as she searched for the piece of information that would help her understand.

Sakura, Ino, and Hinata simply stared at the blonde woman as she continued to scan the scroll. Each were confused as to what exactly could make her react to suddenly. "Um...Tsunade-sama, what are you doing?" Sakura asked cautiously, afriad she'd get yelled at.

Silence was her only reply as piece foot by foot of the scroll was unraveled until it reached the end. A loud gasp filled the air as Tsunade finished reading.

"What?" The three girls practically screamed.

"This...this...it can't be," Tsunade uttered. Her hands trembled and the scroll dropped to her desk before rolling onto the floor in front of the three female ninja.

Sakura, Hinata, and Ino exchanged glances before Ino picked up the scroll. They all leaned in together and searched for what could cause such a reaction in the blonde woman before them.

The scroll dropped to the floor once more as horror filled their minds. This wasn't possible.

There was no longer a need for explaination. It was all very clear how this could have happened. This was the work of some one heartless and cruel. There upon the scroll etched in red was the symbol of the Uchiha.

_It means I've Left This World_

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This chapter was sort of like a filler and yet not. It was a slow chapter though. Anyway leave your love!


	5. And I've Left You Alone

Hi all my awesome and loyal readers sorry I've been gone for so long but now I'm back with more writing than ever! I'll be updating a lot this rs sorry I've been gone for so long but now I'm back so without further ado I give you...

Chapter 4: _And_ _I've Left You Alone_

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Agonizing moments that felt like years passed as everyone stared at the blood-red Uchiwa staring up at them from the scroll. No one moved as shock passed through the occupants of the room, incapable to fully comprehend what they were seeing.

Unable to take the silence, Ino picked up the scroll and slammed the scroll into the desk in front of her. Startled, three pairs of wide eyes stared at the blonde girl in front of them.

"What's the meaning of this?" Ino screamed as her eyes bore into the Hokage before her.

"Ino calm down," Hinata reprimanded as she put her hand on the girl's shoulder trying to push her down into her chair.

Ino simply shrugged the hand off. "No, I will not calm down. Our friend is dying at this very moment and you expect me to just sit here in silence?" Ino raged her voice laced with frustration and desperation.

"Yelling about it isn't going to get you anywhere either Ino pig,"Sakura muttered under her breath.

Ino rounded on the pink haired girl ready to rip into her.

"Be quiet!" Tsunade demanded as she abruptly stood from her chair, eyes blazing with fire as she glared at the three women in front of her.

The three kunoichi immediately quieted and sat down in their chairs, their heads bowed..

Tsunade placed her hand to her forehead for a moment and let out a tired sigh. She looked up at the three before her.

They were met with war-torn and tired eyes as a long drawn out sigh weighed down by the burdens of this world filled the air.

"What I'm about to tell you three remains in this room until further notice. It is a very old secret and has not been retold since the time of the Second Great Ninja War."

The three kunoichi stared at the woman before them with rapt attention. Her eyes read of times long before them, of strife and suffering long forgotten in the history books and sealed away. At that moment they could see their Hokage for who she truly was. A strong warrior of time able to overcome the odds of death's hands on more than one occasion. This was their Hokage. However, they could also see the pain and heartache those years had etched into her heart and body. Her age was clear at this moment as she recalled the events of old.

As she spoke her voice sounded lost in time. Her body was here and yet her mind and soul were not. She was long gone.

_Konoha had been fighting against Suna and Oto for months now. The war was wearing, not only on the ninja, but the land and the people. Many lives were lost, even more just barely hanging on, while others welcomed death. It would be a reprieve from this hellish world that surrounded them._

_Konoha was on its last legs and they needed something, anything, or this would be the end of a nation before it even truly begun._

_That night, the council met in the tattered remains of the Hokage building. Discussions filled the room, members voting for surrender, others wishing to at least go down fighting. We were desperate, if nothing changed, if nothing were to be done, we would cease to exist._

_In a dark corner of the room, a lone figure made his presence known. "I have the answer to our problems," a gruff voice stated._

_"What could you possibly do Uchiha?" spat a Hyuga._

_"More than you ever could. My clan has created a weapon so great we can come back from this down fall if you allow us," the Uchiha stated as he walked to confront the council head on._

_Murmurs erupted among the council many filled with words of doubt. Could they really entrust their future into the hands of a single clan? The consequences would he endless, giving the Uchiha the power in this war. But did they have any other choice? They were on their last leg at Tue moment with nothing else that could possibly save them._

_"Fine Uchiha-san what is this so-called weapon?" the Second Hokage asked._

_A victorious smirk spread across the man's features. "I cannot dispense the details to you but I can assure with this we will win."_

_That night, we found ourselves on the battlefield once more, only this time we had allowed the Uchiha to lead us into battle. They handed each of us a bag of kunai with the instructions to cut as many enemy as we could, fatal hits were just a plus. As the battle began all did as they were told and went after the enemy._

_We tried as hard as we could to do as the Uchiha said but whatever they had planned was not working. Within moments our men began to fall as well. It was a suicide mission._

_Suddenly cries filled the air, they were unlike anything heard before. Filled with so much pain then a nasty gurgling noise and finally silence. Looking around, the entire enemy force was on the ground in pools of blood. It was horrific, even for a war-torn world. It was like the bodies had burst from the inside. Disembodied parts strewn around the original form, blood still bursting forth and painting all of us in red._

_Everyone dropped their weapons and some even wretched. It was sickening, a massacre like no other. Yet, among all the chaos one thing stood out. Brighter than the blood and glowing with pure menace._

_The eyes of the Uchiha._

* * *

_Once again, the council found themselves in the tattered remains of the Hokage building._

_"We should continue using this!"one of the members shouted. "This is our first victory in months. We need this."_

_"We don't even know what it really is!" A medic nin stated._

_"Then we study it, after today's success I don't see anything wrong," came from the back of the room._

_"Nothing wrong!? It's a biological weapon that we don't even know the full details about! For all we know the blood could be contaminated with whatever was on the sword and we could have the god wretched thing in us!"_

"_Quiet!" roared from the third Hokage, slamming his fists into the table in front of him._

_Silence immediately filled the room and all eyes turned to the head of the village._

"_We have no other choice but to keep using what the Uchihas have given us, but we must also be cautious of the consequences. I suspect there is more to this than anyone is letting on," the old man stated as he scanned the faces of all those present daring anyone to speak or even make a sound. When no one even made a step forth or opened their mouths, the man nodded his head in approval. "I want a team of our most skilled medic nin to examine the bodies of those killed and another to study the weapons and to decipher what exactly was given to us."_

_Over the next few months, Konoha won battle after battle and would soon win the war if we continued this way. But, the truth of the weapon from the Uchiha was revealed and it was horrendous._

_I was in the medical tent, taking care of a young man. He was covered in blood but I could not find any deep wounds, just small lacerations all over his body. There was something wrong with his blood, that much was obvious. Before I could even figure out the underlying cause the man had bled out. I didn't have time to think about what had just happened as more bodies came flooding in, all of them blanketed in red._

_That night, once all was quiet for at least a little while, I snuck into our "morgue" determined to understand the cause of so many deaths. I spent countless hours going from body to body, trying to find a cause of death other than blood loss but could find none. Therefore, I took samples of the blood of each person and studied them._

_After what seemed like an eternity, I though I had figured it all out. The blood of our enemies really was contaminated, long time exposure to the blood of those killed by the Uchiha Weapon causes the blood to no longer be able to clot which results in bleed outs._

_With the new revelation, the council ordered all fighters to be completely covered and not expose even a sliver of skin. We could not dare to even touch the bodies, so we burned any that were contaminated be it enemy or friend. Thinking back on it, I realize how horrific the entire thing was._

_The village believed that it was over then. There were no more deaths on our side and we could still use the Uchiha Weapon to win the war. But we were wrong, so very wrong._

_It was the last battle, to determine who would win this war. As the battle raged, bodies began to drop like flies. It was impossible to tell who they were as blood covered their features. But we had won._

_That night as we were counting and burying the bodies, something stood out to me. The enemy count was high, too high to be natural, even if the entire army was dead, the body count was just too high. Suspicious, I went for one of the enemy bodies and pulled back the cover._

_I literally screamed in terror at what I saw. It was not an enemy but one of our own. I knew, amongst all the blood and torn body parts I saw the Konoha élite tattoo on the upper right shoulder staring straight at me. I began to pull back more covers and the more I found the more I wanted to puke. By the time I had finished, nearly one-quarter of the supposed "enemy" was discovered as our own. All of them killed in the same way, body practically torn apart by some unknown force from the inside out._

_At that moment I knew what the Uchiha had really given us. It truly was a biological weapon, capable of delivering death from the inside out. The most terrible of ways to go, with no way to stop it and no way to control it. It didn't just stop blood clotting but it forced the body to reject any blood it came in contact with, making the body attack itself. It was a double-edged sword, killed the enemies but just one drop of contaminated blood would result in a total shut down of your own body._

_The council was horrified with my findings and forced the Uchiha Clan to eradicate all weaponry. They even went so far as to seal the technique away and "pull" it from the minds of those that knew how to control it. It was dealt with quickly and efficiently, never to be used again._

"I never thought that the day would come when I would see that poison again," Tsunade finished a forlorn look etched across her features.

The room was quiet for a few seconds as each person was lost in their own thoughts about what had just been revealed to them.

Finally Sakura broke the silence. "But now that we know what it is you can stop it right?" she asked, hope flooding her voice.

The other two young women perked up at the statement and they all turned hopeful eyes to their Hokage. Tsunade just stared back at the girls with her eyes unreadable and her body language indecipherable.

Tsunade sigh and looked away from the three desperate young women in front of her. How could she tell them? How could she break their hearts and tell them the truth? The blonde woman looked away from them and her eyes caught sight of the pictures of previous Hokages; from her grandfather the First with an encouraging smile spread across his mouth, to the Second with that aloof and slight arrogant expression, next the Third with his endearing and yet relaxed look, and finally the Fourth, with his bright yellow hair and blue eyes.

At the picture of Minato, Tsunade felt a sting at the back of her eyes. The father of the man whose life was now on the line seemed to be looking straight at her, begging her to save his son. Naruto really had turned into a replica of Namikaze. Memories flooded her mind of both men; of their ambitious attitudes, encouraging smiles that never faded, yellow hair that was always the last thing to be seen before they flashed away, and the bright blue eyes that were always a window into their souls.

Tsunade could see it all, every last detail. Then she saw the memory of Minato's last breath on this earth, holding Naruto and Kushina with a look of pure joy as he looked up at her and she knew the message that could not be said just before his last breath escape him. "Take care of my son."

She blinked back tears at the memory as she finally returned her full attention to the three female shinobi in front of her, still looking at her with so much hope and happiness, oh how she dreaded what she was about to say.

"We can't," Tsunade muttered as if that would explain everything.

Any traces of hope disappeared in that moment and were replaced by confusion.

"W-what do you mean, we can't? You know what is is, so you can fix it right?" Ino inquired, her voice drenched in pure distress.

"Y-ye-yeah, you said you guys fixed it so everything is better now right? You can heal Naruto?" Hinata asked her voice shaking with a mixture of confusion, hope, and desperation, like a man taking his last breath while still begging to be saved.

Tsunade looked at them and just that one look sent all three girls into tears. "It's impossible," she whispered as she looked at the frantic girls before her. "Only an Uchiha can save him."

Hinata threw herself into Ino's arms as tears streamed down her face and sobs racked her body. Ino buried her face in Hinata's hair as she tried to comfort the girl as she herself began to weep. Sakura, however, just sat there, unmoving, barely even breathing.

It felt like her world was crashing down around her. She had already lost one important person in her life she couldn't lose another. Just the thought of that ball of sunshine being dimmed from this world, turned Sakura's blood cold. She looked at Tsunade and felt herself crack.

"No! There has to be something, anything! We can't just let him die, I can't," Sakura screamed as she stood from her chair about to walk from the room and run to the hospital. If they gave up fine, but not her, not until Naruto himself gave up and she knew he never would, so why should she?

"Sakura stop," Ino muttered through her own pain.

"NO! I won't stop, my friend's life is on the line! I'm not going to stop just like I know he wouldn't!" Sakura proclaimed. "I'll do everything I can to save him. I'll search the world that Uchiha if it's the last thing I do!"

"He's dead Sakura!" Ino yelled at the pinkette, tears streaming down her face as she turned to fully stare at the girl, fire blazing in her eyes.

"We don't know that for sure! If this is exactly what Tsunade-sama says he has to be alive!" Sakura stated, turning her back to the blonde.

"Naruto killed Sasuke himself!" Ino screeched trying to get through to the woman.

The room once again fell quiet, even Hinata had held her breath and stopped her crying at the sudden fact. All eyes looked to the blonde girl who had just dropped a bomb on them all.

"W-w-what are you saying?" Sakura asked, all her earlier fire gone.

Ino turned away from everyone and covered her mouth as if she had just revealed a terrible secret, best kept quiet and maybe something like this was one of those things. She had just made a terrible mistake by revealing that bit of information, the promise that she had made had just been broken.

Tsunade stared at the young woman, she could easily read the inner turmoil going through her mind. Under normal circumstances she would have let the girl continue to sort out her thoughts before speaking, but these were most definitely not normal conditions. If the Uchiha truly was dead, then there was some one else out there with the power to use this horrid killing technique.

Once this meeting was done, she would have to send out search parties to find any information on who could have the power of an Uchiha if they were all gone.

"Ino, what you're saying, is it true?" Tsunade inquired making sure to tread very carefully in case she stepped on a land mind.

Ino looked at the Hokage before hesitantly nodding her head in confirmation.

Sighing, Tsunade massaged her temples from the oncoming migraine. Why did things have to be so complicated? "Why did you keep it a secret?"

The younger blonde faltered slightly as she opened her mouth to speak then she closed it. How was she to begin to even explain the web of lies and secrets that she had gone through to hide this critical piece of information?

After a few more tense moments the Yamanaka daughter finally spoke this time with little reluctance.

_The day that Naruto and Sasuke had their last battle, we were the first team to find Naruto. In the books, and by everyone else's accounts it was Team Kakashi but no, we had been there first._

_The sight of a bloodied and mangled Naruto was the first thing I ran to, but with what little strength he had left he pushed me away. I was shocked and tried again but he kept trying to push me away while muttering something. That's when I finally understood what he had said. "Sasuke."_

_I just stared at him as he muttered his name and kept pointing north, the direction we assumed that Sasuke had taken. I shook my head at Naruto as he tried harder to push us away and go after Sasuke. I could see him fading from the world, but he was insistent that we go after Sasuke, so we went after him, against our better judgement._

_It wasn't very hard, it seemed like Sasuke was just trying to get as far away as possible but didn't care about stealth. There were trampled tree branches and bloodied leaves as we continued to follow the trail left. It was very weird, like Sasuke was almost unable to move quickly, as if he was injured. We were able to continue on the trail for another five minutes before the sounds of rushing water filled our ears._

_We hastened our pace and the trees opened up to the top of a huge waterfall, the water roaring so loud we could barely hear each other. However, that wasn't what caught our sights. Standing just a hair's breath away from the edge of the cliff, was Sasuke. But this wasn't the prefect and flawless Sasuke that I had known. No, this Sasuke was battered, bruised, and bloodied in so many ways that I almost didn't recognize him. If it hadn't been for the Sharingan blazing and swirling strongly, I would have believed the person was an imposter._

_I rushed forward attempting to go after Sasuke and at the very least try to heal him. However, Shikamaru held me back and pushed me behind him and Choji, both of them had their kunai raised, poised to attack._

_Sasuke raised a pale finger to his lips in a hush motion as a wicked smirk spread across his face. "Don't tell Naruto," slipped past red lips as red eyes were covered by pale lids._

"_NO!" I screamed as Sasuke's body went slack and he fell back, over the cliff and down the waterfall._

_Shikamaru and Choji ran forward, trying to catch the body, but it was too late. Sasuke was already too far gone for them to even attempt to catch him._

_We searched the area for what felt like hours after that trying to find his body with little success. That's when Shikamaru noticed vulchers circling a certain area and we raced towards it._

_I was horrified at the sight of Sasuke's body practically covered in those wretched birds, eating away at his flesh. I fell to my knees at that moment and began to cry, my hands covering my eyes as my head shook from side to side trying to rid myself of the image._

_Shikamaru and Choji scared the birds away and buried the body in an unmarked grave near the river. As for me, I hadn't moved until I felt Shikamaru place a comforting hand on my back. I threw myself into his arms and continued to sob uncontrollably, as the images refused to disappear from my mind._

_It felt like hours before I had calmed down enough, to even understand that Shikamaru and Choji were discussing our next move._

"_What are we supposed to do now? We shouldn't have even buried the body!" Choji said with confusion laced in his voice._

"_We had no other choice! If we brought the body back, who knows what Naruto would have done! You saw him the first time, what would he do if he knew that he killed him," Shikamaru reasoned as he placed his hands in their trademark thinking position._

"_We can't just not report it!" Choji stated in frustration._

"_What are you guys talking about?" I asked, still a little fuzzy from the shock._

"_How do we handle this situation. Tell Naruto that he killed Sasuke or not?" Choji informed as he paced back and forth while munching on a bag of chips._

"_We don't," Shikamaru declared as he finally opened his eyes. "We say that we followed the trail to the waterfall, then it disappeared."_

"_Why do we have to lie? Why can't we just say what really happened?" I inquired, completely lost about what all of this was really about._

"_If Naruto knew that he killed Sasuke, who knows how he might react. He killed his most important person, the person he's spent years trying to save. If he finds out, I don't even want to think of what he might do."_

"And so we promised to keep it a secret, for Naruto's sake. If asked we'd say that we lost the trail and that was it," Ino finished, her voice shaking slightly at the recollection of finding the body.

For the umpteenth time that day, all was quiet and everyone was processing even more shocking information and news.

"We need to find the body," Tsunade stated. "I need to personally check and make sure that it is true. We have to send out search parties and find it. If he really is dead then that means some one else now has the Sharingan and could be using it for god knows what."

"Is that really necessary?" Sakura asked her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"If some one has brought back that god forsaken poison into this world than yes it is. Just a single drop and a whole army could be killed. This is no longer a matter of just Naruto, this concerns the safety of the entire village," Tsunade stated as she collected herself and left the office headed towards the council room to discuss to newest set of problems.

In a matter of hours, teams of Shinobi went in every direction in the search for the Uchiha, one last time.

* * *

"Konoha is in motion, master," a whimpering voice informed its "master."

"Good, it's time to set the plan into full motion," a husky voice replied as a pale hand strummed against a large glass column filled with green liquid. "It's time to return to _him_."

_And I've Left You Alone_

* * *

Yay! Chapter 5 up and fabulous! Review and tell me your thoughts!


	6. It Means, I Wasn't Strong Enough

Hello all my precious darling readers, the response to the last chapter has driven me to update a little faster than last time. I am trying to come up with a good time to make annual updates. Weekly is a little overwhelming, but maybe every two weeks? Tell me your thoughts on that.

Without further ado, I give you

_Chapter 6: It Means, I wasn't Strong Enough_

"They are upon us," a slithery voice whispered.

"Time to fulfill your mission, my little raven," A husky voice cooed.

In Konoha, the village was unrecognizable. No children played on the streets, women did not stop to talk to others, men walked fully armed with kunai and swords, and the shinobi were on high alert, continuously perusing the area. Even if the public did not know the full details of happenings over the course of the past week, they could tell when there was danger lurking. Something big was about to occur, and it would throw the village into chaos once more.

"Tsunade if what you're saying is true we must do this!" Homura Mitokado stated anger clear in the old man's voice.

Tsunade glared at the council member, wanting desperately to get her point across that what they were practically ordering was outrageous. "You're telling me to kill him!" Tsunade argued. Her own frustration and irritation beginning to show.

"You don't seem to understand the severity of the situation, _Tsunade_," Koharu Utatane said with a bit of malice edged into her voice.

"Yes, Tsunade, you've forgotten the terror and turmoil that this thing caused us," Homura sneered in a haughty manner.

Tsunade glared at the two elders in front of her and wanted more than anything at that moment to slit their throats. They wanted her to kill Naruto, kill the one thing in her life that had yet to disappear. First, Nawaki had left at such a young age, just after promising to get stronger and protect her. Dan had left her broken and damaged after she gave him her heart. Jiraiya had put her back together only have the cracks reopened as he too left her. Now, Naruto, the one who had been her light and sunshine in the world and promised to stay by her side; the one who reflected the wills of all three before him; the one who she vowed to protect was about to be killed, either by her own hands or the hands of the elders. She would have to make a choice and soon.

At those thoughts, her glare intensified and the will of fire apparent at that moment, it was quite a shock to the elders. "You say I don't understand and have forgotten, but have you forgotten who found the bodies? Who uncovered the meaning behind it all? I know the severity of the situation; I remember the chaos that haunts me at night. However, I will never betray one of my own, while he is still breathing," Tsunade exclaimed. Her anger had burst forth at that moment and she just could not help but to take it all out on the elders before her.

The look on the elders' faces hardened at the little rant. "You've just sealed his fate, Tsunade. You have until the end of the week to do as we say before we take matters into our own hands." With that, the two elders walked out of the room, leaving a raging Hokage in their wake.

Once the elders were out of sight, Tsunade threw her desk against the wall causing anything in and on the desk to scatter across the room. A scream of utter frustration passed her lips as she did so and Tsunade felt a torrent of emotions wash over her at that moment. She collapsed into her chair, slightly relieved she had not thrown it out the window.

In a matter of seconds, Shizune popped into the doorway and looked around the room. Sighing, the assistant walked over to the exhausted woman on the chair and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"How long do we have?" Shizune inquired.

"Until the end of the week," Tsunade informed as a heavy sigh escaped her.

"We must put our trust into our shinobi, they can do it," Shizune stated, in a reassuring manner.

Tsunade placed her hand on top of Shizune's and let a small smile pass her lips. The two women turned towards the window as distance looks passed over their faces. It was up to the ninja to decide Naruto's fate.

At the valley of end a three teams of four ninja gathered in a group for recon and mission progress. Team Kakashi was Kakashi, Sakura, Hinata, and Kiba. Team Gai consisted of Neji, TenTen, Gai, and Lee. Finally, Team Shikamaru had Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and Shino. All three teams looked worse for wear, having gone through the night to get to this one spot; the background for Naruto and Sasuke's last fight; the last place Sasuke was ever seen.

The area was still scarred by the intense battle that transpired between the two ninja; gaping holes littered the statues, burned land, not even the waterfall could wash away the crater in the middle of the river. It became apparent that the two shinobi were of great power even at the ripe age of eighteen. The place was no longer a landmark for just one great battle in history but now signified the great bounds of friendship and heartache that overwhelmed the two shinobi, one of the pale yet dark moon, the other the blazing sun. Each had the power to stop the other but never truly could; it was a constant game of tug-o-war that never had its full conclusion.

Shikamaru shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts that filled his mind as he surveyed the area. He was the one put in charge of the search, he needed to focus, and he needed to save his friend. At that moment, the flapping of wings filled the air and he looked up to see a messenger hawk heading his way.

As the hawk reached the group of ninja, Shikamaru stepped forward and removed the note from the bird's leg before sending it on its way. Shikamaru's face paled as he read the letter. They were now on a time limit, or else the life of their friend would be forcibly taken before they even got a chance to save it.

"What's the letter say," Sakura inquired as she watched the warring emotions behind Shikamaru's eyes.

A sigh escaped the man's lips and his trademark phrase escaped his lips. "We only have four days to find the body and return to Konoha."

Gasps erupted from almost all the shinobi around him. Four days, was barely enough time to even locate the body let alone bring it back to Konoha. What was going on back at the village to cause such an absurd command?

"What? Why?" Kiba asked.

"If we do not return to Konoha within the allotted time with a way to save Naruto, then the elders will kill him. He is being seen as a threat to the security of the village and they cannot afford to have him alive for much longer and risk contagion," Shikamaru informed.

Silence befell the group of ninja as the information began to sink in.

"We'll just have to double or even triple our efforts then," Kakashi remarked as a glint of something unfounded reflected in his eyes for a moment before disappearing.

Shikamaru nodded his head and straightened up as his face no longer had a carefree look but determined and composed. "We'll go to the grave sight first and see what we can find from there."

With that the ninja took off, following the path taken so long ago that was still etched into the minds of the three that had first come upon it only to find a horrific sight before them. This time they only hoped for a better outcome, if only to save their friend, to rescue him from the dark path he had fallen onto.

In a matter of moments, the three teams found themselves down the riverbank looking for clues as to the spot of the burial.

"We're never going to find it this way," Kiba groaned in frustration.

"No, I know where it is," Ino argued.

All heads turned to her and anger flashed across Shikamaru's face at the outburst. "You marked the grave didn't you?" He inquired, irritation evident in his voice.

"I'm sorry, but I just couldn't let him disappear from the world without even a marker to show that he was once here," Ino admitted with guilt flooding her voice.

"What'd you mark it with?" Neji asked her as he scanned the area for any obvious signs.

"I didn't use anything obvious, I just stacked a few rocks and used a bit of chakra to bind them together and keep them from falling," Ino remarked.

So for the next half hour the area was combed through searching for the supposed grave marker only to come up empty.

"This is pointless!" Kiba growled out as he flopped on the ground.

"Kiba, don't give up now, Naruto needs us," Hinata remedied as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Neji, Hinata can you scan the area with your Byakugan, look for anything abnormal in the ground," Gai commanded.

"Why would we do that?" Neji asked confusion written all over his face.

"Gai's on to something just do it," Shikamaru said, as a light bulb seemed to have clicked on in his brain.

Neji and Hinata activated their Byakugans as ordered and searched the area.

"I don't understand what we're supposed to be looking for," Hinata said with utter confusion laced throughout her voice.

Neji grunted in agreement, as he continued to "look" for something. "This is pointless, it's not like-"

Everyone turned to Neji who had suddenly stopped talking mid sentence as he focused in on a certain point right a line of trees. "There's a body in the ground six feet under ground right by those trees over there." Neji informed as he walked towards the said area with a focused purpose.

"You see it too right, cousin?" Hinata asked, as they got closer to the tree line.

"Yes, there's still chakra flowing through the body," Neji said in astonishment as they stood just a foot away.

"That's not possible," Sakura stated from just behind the two Hyugas.

"Wait, everyone run!" Hinata yelled as she turned around and starting getting as far away as possible.

The others were hot on her tail, running as fast as possible even if they did not know what was going on.

"What's going on?' Shikamaru yelled at the two.

The two pale-eyed ninja turned to Shikamaru about to answer when a loud boom filled the air. An explosion filled the air as the twelve ninja covered their faces from the sheer force that came towards them.

Once deemed safe, everyone looked at the destruction that was caused. The spot where they had just at was now a large crater ten feet in diameter, any trees left standing were turning to ash, debris littered the area, and even the river was beginning to pour into the crater.

"Find the cause of this now!" Shikamaru commanded as the ninja spread out across the area looking for the trigger or reason.

"Shikamaru wait!" Hinata screamed in panic.

Everyone stopped to look at the Hyuga heiress with distress filling her features. "There's something down there," she stated shakily.

They all turned to look at the crated but could not see a single thing.

"Kiba needs to, sorry for the lack of a better term, drill about two feet north of the center, there's a passageway maybe ten-fifteen feet below," Neji informed at the confused looks sent his way.

An audible groan filled the air as Kiba grumbled about some indecipherable complaints. "There's no other way, Kiba-kun, explosives could set something off," Hinata tried to explain as she put a reassuring hand on his back.

"Yea whatever," the dog boy grumbled as he began to do the hand signs for his jutsu.

As Kiba was doing that, Shikamaru began to think about a few things. This was excessively easy, there had to be a trap waiting for them. That explosion was evidence enough that this place was dangerous, and there was much more to it than just a body. They were definitely being led to a trap, there was no other explanation. However, what more could they do? This could possibly be what they are looking for, but there was no guarantee of that. They would definitely need to proceed with extreme caution, unless they risk their lives as well.

If they found the Uchiha, great, but at what cost. What was waiting for them below the ground? Would it be that snake once again trying to destroy Konoha? On the other hand, maybe it would be Madara and Obito using the long lost technique to bring chaos and destruction to the world. What would happen to them then?

Would they be able to find what they were looking for before their allotted time was up or would they fail the one person who had never failed them? Shikamaru continued these thoughts as the minutes went by just waiting to break through the ground and get to the tunnels.

A little ways off Sakura, Ino, and Hinata gathered by the riverbanks to discuss recent findings.

"Do you think we'll be able to make it in time?" Ino asked, nervous unrest creeping into her voice as she watched Kiba slowly make his way through the dirt.

Sakura shook her head and turned away from all of them, just looking at the far off mountains. How were any of them supposed to answer that question? They now only had four days to complete their mission and so far nothing. Sure they could put there hopes in these supposed tunnels under the ground but what if they were wrong?

They could not afford to be wrong, there would not be any time left to search for another solution. All their hopes put into this one little thing, a small hope that there was more, but if not then what?

Naruto was doomed to death already, what they were doing was to ease their own minds and hearts. They could consume themselves with this mission, put their all into it, and chase after false hope, but it would help them grieve. It allowed them the right to say that they fought for his life, they did everything they could, but it was not enough. Would that be all that awaited them if they failed? Would that be all that waited them no matter what? Even if, by some miracle, they accomplished the mission and got back to Konoha in time, could they really save him?

Sakura jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up to find Ino and Hinata gone and Lee with a handkerchief in his outstretched palms. Surprised, Sakura placed her fingers on her face and felt the tell tale signs of tears. She accepted the handkerchief and wiped her eyes, a blush forming on her face from being caught in such a vulnerable state during such an important and high-risk time.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like this, it's the worst possible time to be crying, I know," Sakura said as she tried to make herself look presentable.

For once in his life, Lee was silent as he sat down next to Sakura and pulled her to him. At first, Sakura did not know how to respond but eventually she gave in and melted into him. Soon after, her tears began to flow once more.

"Shhh, it'll be okay, we're going to save him," Lee soothed, as he rubbed his hand in a comforting motion on Sakura's back.

Sakura was stunned speechless at this side of Lee. He was being quiet for one thing, but he was also being a strong and resolute pillar of support in a moment of weakness. Sakura knew she should have pushed him away to not lead him on, but at that moment, she just could not. She needed this, more than anything; she needed to feel like she was not alone. She needed to know that she was not being abandoned while those she loved most in this world disappeared before her eyes.

Therefore against her better judgment, Sakura allowed herself to be held by Lee, the loud, obnoxious, slightly odd man, who at that moment was all that but also her rock.

Hours later, the Konoha ninja gathered around a fire as the days events began to catch up to them all. Kiba had gotten through to the passageway as the two Hyugas had said but they would all wait until morning to explore the caverns. The dark didn't matter to any of them but with one of their stronger members exhausted from nonstop ninjutsu use, Shikamaru decided it'd be best to wait until morning to ensure they were fully equipped for anything that would come their way.

"What do you think we'll find?" Choji inquired as he munched on a large fish they had caught in the river.

"There's an endless list of possibilities," Kakashi muttered solemnly.

"It could just be an old hide out from the war, or one of _his_ lairs, or just a system of natural tunnels," Shino provided as he played with a bug that had just landed on his finger.

One of the tents opened up then and Lee walked out, looking unreadable for once. He slumped onto the ground next to Gai and grabbed a stick of fish.

"How is she?" Hinata asked.

Lee looked up at her with a far off gleam in his eye. "Her youthfulness is just a little low," Lee said.

Things became silent after that before everyone picked up their own conversations with each other. After another half hour, most of the shinobi had settled in their own tents for the night, leaving TenTen and Lee to do the first watch.

"You know, you're just going to get hurt," TenTen stated with a pointed look in the young man's direction.

Lee just looked away from her, but TenTen was able to see the warring emotions behind those big round eyes. "You don't know that. She's broken and I'm going to put the pieces back together, she'll come to love me," Lee muttered quietly not truly believing the words himself.

TenTen studied her teammate for a few choice seconds before sighing and looking away. She could tell that he was trying to convince himself of those same words. She knew he was not going to come out on top once this was all over.

Back in Konoha, Sai was in his and Naruto's apartment just going around the place and not really doing much o anything else. He refused to go on the mission because he wanted to stay close to Naruto, but he was not allowed to be by his side. All visitors had to only look at the blonde from twenty feet away and through multiple layers of specially reinforced glass. It was terrible. The love of his life was suffering and he could not even go to his side to hold his hand.

Exhaling quite loudly, Sai decided he needed to get out of the place and away from the painful memories. Therefore, twenty minutes later, Sai was atop the Hokage Mountain over looking the village. From his viewpoint, everything in the village looked normal, even without any people out. The village was rebuilt and beautiful.

Sai continued to survey the scenery when his eyes landed on a scar that should have disappeared already, the _Uchiha Compound_. The same wretched and vile place had birth the ones who had caused his love's current condition. It was the sigh of the largest massacre in a matter of minutes known to the village. It held the memories of a million betrayals and housed the man who was killing his sunshine.

That place needed to disappear, it should have a long time ago, but some one was protecting it, just as he protected everything in this village.

No one wanted to ever go near that place and many wanted to take it down and rebuild the place, but Naruto had always stopped them. He guarded that place like it was his own home and Sai knew in some ways it was. That place was the remnants of a once powerful force and the last bits of visible evidence that the Uchiha existed. It marked their fall but also signified their resurrection. Naruto had believed so strongly that one day, the compound would flourish once more.

However, that hope disappeared that faithful day three years ago. Sai was a far cry from Shikamaru, but he knew how to read the signs. Even some one as great and powerful as Uchiha Sasuke does not just completely drop off the radar. He had to have died in order to not even hear of a sighting or feel an ounce of chakra. Sai knew that the Uchiha was dead, and he would remain so if he had any say in it.

"What do you want?" Sai asked as he turned to face the man that had raised him up and created the assassin in him.

"I must speak with you, I have a new mission for you," Danzou stated with a sneer plastered onto his face.

Sai eyed the man wearily as he slowly stood to fully face the man before him. "ROOT was disbanded, I don't have to listen to you," Said retorted, ready to just walk away from the man.

"Oh, you do, when it concerns a certain fox."

Tsunade sat at her desk in the Hokage tower, glaring at the wall. So many thoughts ran through her mind, as she contemplated recent happenings. She tried on multiple occasions to sort everything out and figure out what to do but to no avail. She always arrived at the same conclusion; Naruto was doomed to death.

There were very few paths to take on the matter. First, he would be murdered at by the counsel because he was a supposed threat to the safety of the village. However, she would never let that happen, those people would never get their hands on Naruto as long as she lived.

Second, the poison would take full effect and… Tsunade could not even bear to finish that train of thought. No, she would save him before that happened. Even if he was unconscious at the moment, he would still feel the pain; he would have to endure being torn apart from the inside. She could hardly tolerate the bile that rose as her mind betrayed her and allowed the thought to finish. Never could she let that come to pass, she would save him before then.

Third, the ninja she had sent out would succeed in find _him_ and Naruto could be healed. Although, there was no guarantee that it could be accomplished and even then there is the chance that _he_ cannot fix it.

Fourth, there is the possibly that she was completely wrong about what it was. Then, she would have to thoroughly study and analyze it to find the truth. Nevertheless, there is no telling what would have become of Naruto by then.

Finally, her last option, Tsunade did not even want to think about it. The mere thought of it, spiked anguish, and sadness through out her system. She would kill Naruto herself, take him out of his misery, and relieve him of his pain.

She had thought about that last option, more than a few times. It would mean she would be the one to do and he would have complete control of the situation. It would keep the elders away from him and keep the village safe. Nevertheless, it would mean her hands would be soaked in the blood of her most precious one. She would be tainted and haunted by it until the day she died, until the day she would see him again and could explain to him her reasons.

No, she could never do that Naruto; never would it come to pass. She would figure out exactly what was wrong and she would save him. Even if it meant, exchanging her life for his.

Yes, she would do everything in her power, until his last breath escaped him to save her blonde sunshine.

Tsunade's resolve was wearing thin as she watched the clock tick by. There was less than two hours before the end of the fourth day. She could not allow the counsel to touch her pseudo grandson. Her trust in the ninja had been for not. They were not here and not a single word received as to their status. Tsunade could only conclude that they had not found anything of worth.

The clock chimed away and Tsunade became desperate in those moments as time became her enemy. In one hour, the counsel would be upon her and the decision would be made on Naruto's fate. The counsel would be the ones to kill the man and remove him from this world completely.

In those moments as those thoughts crossed her mind, Tsunade's resolve burned anew. The counsel would not lay a single finger, not even a hair, on Naruto.

Standing up, Tsunade rushed to the hospital, passing a confused Shizune who ran after her screaming for an explanation. However, Tsunade refused to even look in her direction. She had decided something and she would fulfill it.

The Hokage did not stop until she reached Naruto's room and burst through the door, surprising Yamato.

"Tsunade-sama what are you doing here?" the ANBU captain asked as he stood up to give a slight bow in greeting.

"Just get ready for the Kyuubi to come out. You need to seal him away," Tsunade said as she approached Naruto.

"Tsunade-sama what is the meaning of this? What are you saying?" Shizune yelled, finally catching up to the woman.

Tsunade ignored the other occupants as she looked upon Naruto. If she only looked at his face, it seemed like he was sleeping. One of the nurses was brave enough or maybe just crazy to continue to look after the boy and cleaned his hair and face. He looked so serene just like that, but upon closer inspection, the signs of pain were evident. His brow creased just slightly, but on a face that usually wrinkled with smiles, an expression of pain was easily spotted. Even in this unconscious state, the boy could feel the pain his body was going through.

Tsunade moved her eyes farther down his body. Any pieces of clothing were removed aside from underwear. It allowed for easier access to the body after an "attack" as they had called them.

However, it made all the gashes that much more noticeable. They had stopped trying to stitch them close; it just caused more damage whenever _it_ came on because _it_ pushed all foreign things out of his body, tearing at the flesh. Therefore, he was simply wrapped and patched up as best as possibly. It was not a very nice thing to look at, as the white bandages were dyed red.

Tears welled in her eyes, as she took in the sight. The once strong and powerful young ninja was reduced to a battered piece of meat on a slab waiting to be slaughtered. His future had been filled with so much more than that. He was on the path of many great things, even the village that loathed his very existence, praised him, and thought of him as a hero. She was going to name him her successor in a few more months, if things had gone as she intended. He would follow in the footsteps of his father and be a great leader of this village.

His life long dream would have come true and maybe he would be happy again. His scars of the past would hopefully heal and smiles brighter than the sun would fill the village once more. Laughs, loud and boisterous, would echo through out the village.

However, no, it was all taken away because of one mission, because of one man; Naruto would just become another ninja who died in the line of duty.

Tsunade saw her tears splash onto the blonde's face and trail down his own cheeks. It appeared as if he was crying as well, like he knew what Tsunade was about to do and had begun to weep. The older blonde-haired woman wiped away those stray tears.

Tsunade rubbed at her eyes and placed a gentle kiss on a tan forehead. Her mind was made up about what would happen next. She went to a drawer in the room and pulled out a syringe and a bottle of clear liquid. She soon filled the syringe with the liquid and walked over to the young man on the bed once more.

"Tsunade-sama what are you doing!" Shizune screeched as she raced forward and grabbed the hand holding the syringe.

"I'm going to put and end to Naruto's suffering," Tsunade stated as she tried to pry her hand away from Shizune's.

"Tsunade-sama, you cannot do that," Shizune screamed at the woman.

"Let me go, Shizune, I must be the one to do this," Tsunade replied in a tone so cold it caused Shizune to flinch and almost release her grip.

Shizune shook her head and only tightened her grasp. "You're not in the right mind, you're not thinking straight," the brown-haired woman argued as she grabbed for the syringe.

"Yes I am, I refuse to allow the counsel to do this to him. I will be the one to end it. I'm protecting him," Tsunade said as she turned away from her assistant and with all her strength pulled her hand free. "Do not think to stop me or I will forcibly remove you from this room."

The Hokage turned to the ANBU captain, who had been practically forgotten over the last few minutes. "Are you ready?"

She received only a nod in response.

Tsunade turned to Naruto's prone body and as she moved the syringe closer to his chest she could only think of how much she was letting everyone down. Especially the father of the boy she had promised to protect._ I am so sorry Minato; I was not strong enough to save your son. I am breaking our promise of keeping him alive to protect him, please understand that. _With those last thoughts, Tsunade brought the syringe down onto a tan chest.

_It Means, I Wasn't Strong Enough_

Don't kill me! I promise this isn't the end, I think. I mean, I already have the ending to this story figured out, how many chapters this story will have (15), and the introduction of Sasuke into the story. Only thing is after maybe the next chapter I'm sort of at a dead end with how to tie it all together. So updates will be a little slow. Maybe every few weeks. I promise it won't be three months again though.


	7. And I Couldn't Protect You

Hey y'all! I am updating a lot faster than I normally would, as y'all may have seen with my other stories. I have not touched most of those in at least a year, probably more. Just means that I am really inspired to write this story.

**PLEASE READ!**** However, here is my dilemma: I know how I will be ending this story, but I do not know how to get there after the introduction of Sasuke into the story. Do you all like the more realistic road that this story is taking so far? I am a little stuck on where to take this after this chapter.**

Without Further Ado I Give You

* * *

_Chapter 7: And I Couldn't Protect You_

"Tsunade-shishou!"

Tsunade froze, her thumb poised to complete the injection, but completely stopped as she turned her head slightly.

Sakura was in the entranceway, completely out of breath, her eyes wide as she looked upon the sight. As soon as it all registered in front of her, she rushed forward and grabbed the Hokage's wrist. However, the Hokage was much stronger than her and shrugged the hand off.

"Stop! What are you doing," Sakura yelled, her voice completely panicked.

Tsunade averted her gaze back to the blonde man, her fingers still poised to finish the injection; the killing blow. "Leave, I have to do this," Tsunade muttered.

Sakura's panic rose and this time she put her hand around the syringe, her fingers purposely stopping any further movement. "You can't do this!"

Tsunade glared hard at the pink haired woman beside her. "Let go," Tsunade ordered, her eyes stone cold.

If this had been any other time, Sakura knew that she would have done as she was told but not this time; not when Tsunade was about to kill one of her friends. "Tsunade-shishou stop please," she pleaded as tears formed at the corners of her eyes.

"Why, tell me, why I should. If I don't do this then those elders will do it and that will never happen," Tsunade stated as she continued to stare at the hands on the blonde's chest.

"We found him, we did it, so please stop," Sakura replied as her tears flowed freely now.

Tsunade's eyes widened in shock as she finally looked at the young girl before her. "What?"

"We found _him_; we can cure Naruto now," Sakura reiterated as she felt Tsunade's hands begin to relax form their iron grip.

However, in an instant, they strengthened once more and Tsunade's gaze turned cold. "No, it's too late, our time is up. I won't let the elders get their hands on Naruto," Tsunade muttered.

"Tsunade-shishou, please I'm begging you stop. Come with me, we'll go to _him_," Sakura begged as her voice took on a desperate tone.

Tsunade looked into the eyes of her pupil for what felt like hours but was really only a few moments as thoughts ran ramped in her head. They were already out of time, what more could she do? Even if they really had found him, there was no telling how long it would take to make an antidote if there even was one, but could she really let go of that little hope? She had sent out teams of ninja to find this one man, on that small sliver of hope that he could save their sun. Why couldn't she hold onto that hope for just a little while longer?

No, this time was different; there was imminent danger this time if she did not do this. It was no longer about one person but an entire nation that she could be putting in danger. Not only that, but the elders would be able to get their hands on Naruto's body if she did not do this herself. Se could never allow such a thing.

Just as Tsunade felt her resolve hardening once more, she was suddenly being pushed back. Looking up, Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise and shock as a wooden dome covered Naruto's body and the syringe lay broken on the floor at her feet.

She turned her gaze towards Yamato and, for once in a long time, she saw emotion passing through the eyes of the man. "Go, I'll protect him," the ANBU captain stated as his body melded into the wood surrounding the blonde.

Tsunade stared for a long while at the stop that Yamato had disappeared until she felt Sakura at her side, trying to get her to move.

"Tsunade-shishou we have to take this opportunity, Yamato-sensei is giving us this chance to save him," Sakura said as she stood while pulling the woman up with her.

Tsunade looked at the young woman and then something seemed to click. She snapped into action as she took on the air of a dignified leader. "Take me to him, I intend to get the answers myself," Tsunade ordered as fire filled her eyes.

Sakura just nodded her head mutely as she turned and left the hospital, the Hokage hot on her tail.

As the two moved through the village and towards the training grounds, Tsunade began to wonder exactly where they were going. Surely, they should be going to the Hokage tower and into the Hokage Mountain like she had told them to before the mission if they found anything.

Finally, it dawned on her. They were not heading to just any training ground, but the training grounds used for shinobi exams. Some of the most dangerous and highly secured areas in the village, hardly anyone would dare to step into one without sufficient protection.

_What exactly is going on here_? Tsunade thought as they entered into the level one danger zone, used only for ANBU tests. However, Tsunade did not voice anything as she followed the pink haired kunoichi.

After a few more minutes, the duo stopped in front of a large waterfall. Tsunade watched in silence as Sakura moved onto the small body of water created by the falls and did a few simple hand signs. Shortly after the body of water moved away and a dirt passageway going down into the earth surfaced. The Hokage remained quiet as the two descended and the water reappeared above them.

Again, it took them a good few minutes before the passageway came to a stop. Sakura placed her hands onto the wall and it sunk into the ground. Once they were passed that point, Tsunade heard the wall coming back up and alarm bells started ringing in her head.

"Sakura where are we going?" Tsunade asked her cautiously.

Sakura looked back at the woman just as they entered a large cavern. "We're here," was the only reply.

Tsunade eyed the girl for a few more moments before fully stepping into the large area. She did a quick survey of the area before her eyes landed on something in the center of the room. Tsunade stepped closer; shock filled her, as she comprehended what it was. "Is that…." Tsunade could hardly finish her sentence as she hesitantly moved a hand forward as if to touch it to make sure it really was there.

"Yes, it's a very long story," a voice called out form the corner of the room.

Tsunade turned her gaze towards the area and was surprised that she had not noticed earlier that the entire group of shinobi sent out was gathered in that one space.

They all walked towards the middle and stopped in front of the Hokage. They bowed their heads in a sign of respect, before someone spoke once more.

"We're sorry we couldn't make it sooner, but we did it," Shikamaru said.

"How?" Tsunade asked in wonder as gaze continually shifted from the people before her and the thing in the middle of the room.

_After much digging and a few more explosions and traps, the group was able to find the passageway that the two Hyugas saw. The three teams of ninja could only stare at the rounded off whole in the ground. The captains of the teams were still conversing about what they should do or the next possible step._

"_What exactly is it?" Kakashi contemplated as they looked at it from the edge of the crater created to dig it up._

"_It's not one of Orochimaru's old lairs. It was much too easy to find and anyway after the war, we eradicated any within the vicinity of the Fire country. This place is no where near any of those hide outs," Shikamaru explained as he placed his hands in his telltale thinking position._

"_An old bunker from a war, possibly," Gai added. "There were quite a few of them through out the years."_

"_That would explain the traps," Kakashi said as he surveyed the area again._

"_No, the last war was five years ago and that trap was a recent one. The chakra was still _fresh_," Neji said as he walked over to the group of captains. "I've seen bombs that have been planted for years, decades even from old wars. A chakra-based bomb will slowly fizzle out after a certain number of years and become weak. This particular bomb was only a weeks old, a month at most."_

_The three men looked at the brunette for a few moments before turning back to each other. That put this entire thing into a completely new perspective. If the bomb was, "fresh" than that meant the ones who placed it could either be inside or somewhere near by. It also meant that there must be something of great value down that passage. However, could they take the risk and go in?_

"_I say we go in," Gai stated as his hand instinctively formed a fist._

_Shikamaru and Kakashi shook their heads in disapproval._

"_We can't take the risk if there's nothing that can help us, then there's no point and we'll waste precious time," Kakashi said as he surveyed the surrounding areas looking for any forms of life._

"_Then why did we dig it up in the first place?" Kiba yelled from a little ways off._

"_He has a point," Sakura jumped in from beside the dog man._

_A loud sigh escaped Shikamaru as well as his trademark phrase. "We'll need to be extra cautious. Gather around everyone, we need a strategy," the dark haired leader said as he watched everyone coming together._

_After a few more hours of discussion a plan formed. Shino sent his bugs in first to try to map out the passage and they discovered that it was not just one small area but a large maze of tunnels and rooms._

"_This means, that it could be a bunker and/or hide out. People would still be in there," Kakashi said aloud what everyone else was thinking._

"_No, the bugs could not find any life; the only thing that could be of importance would be in a large room in the center of the tunnels. I couldn't get a read on what exactly it was, but it's surrounded by chakra," Shino informed as all the bugs returned to him. The reserved man pointed to a spot on the map he had drawn. "It's right here."_

_Everyone studied the area and realized that all the tunnels lead to this one room in some way or another._

"_If all passages lead here, then there must be something there," TenTen proclaimed._

"_Yes, now we need to figure out the best way to explore the tunnels and get to this point," Gai said._

_After much more deliberation and discussion, a plan formed. Each team would take a different path and explore the area for any clues until they met up in the center. Those that could see ahead would lead the teams through the tunnels, meaning the Hyugas and Shino. The rest would need to stay on guard and be ready for any possible traps and attacks._

_Everyone had their radios tuned in as they entered the tunnel and dispersed. On all three sides, nothing eventful happened for the longest time; the thrum of feet, the only sound in the other wise silent passageways. Anytime, either group came upon a door; they would open it to find emptiness, not even remnants of a person living there._

_They continued in this manner for several minutes. Nothing of relevance was found. In the dark depths of the caverns, where neither wind nor light reached, only eternal darkness. No crumbs of food, no strips of cloth, no rats scurried across the floors, not even cobwebs in the corners. With not a single sign of life, the place was literally dead._

"_What is this place," Sakura muttered through the microphone. "There's no way anything could possibly be here."_

"_Maybe we should turn back, we've wasted an entire day already," TenTen replied, her voice slightly shaky._

"_Now, we can't have that," whispered through the radios in the most bone-chilling voice._

_All three teams stopped cold in their tracks. That voice did not belong to any of them. The shinobi were on high alert now, as they looked around them, trying to find the source of the voice. They continued their travel through the tunnels, weapons at the ready, adrenaline pumping through their veins._

_Silence reigned once more as the Konoha ninja moved deeper into the dark maze. Their movements much more cautious and calculated than earlier as their eyes darted around, looking for any signs of danger. _

_After five years of something akin to peace, their senses had dulled slightly. Being in such a different environment, filled with cold emptiness, for some of them, the darkness was slightly suffocating. It felt like death was creeping upon them. Many others would have fled by now, but they were determined if not slightly idiotic. They had come this far, they refused to back down now._

_Silence reigned upon them as the darkness consumed them once more. The only sounds that filled the place were the breaths that filtered in through the radios. The shinobi swiftly moved through the tunnels, not a word said to each other. It was not that they did not have anything to talk about it was that they feared whatever had come through the radios was listening into their conversations. No information would be passed in fear of being caught. Each team would have to be on their own for the moment._

_What seemed like hours later a loud boom filled the air, followed by echoing screams from all team members. In a matter of moments, the floors caved beneath their feet, instantly descending into nothingness. _

_Groans filled the air as one by one each person came to their senses. Many of the members found themselves in very awkward positions, mashed and squashed into one another in a knot of arms and legs._

"_Kiba, get your dog off of me!" Sakura screamed as she realized she was squished between something hard and a fury thing that could only be the over sized dog._

"_Neji needs to get his fat butt off of me first," Kiba yelled back and was followed by the sounds of a scuffle and some one landing hard on the ground._

"_Don't you dare say that again, you flea bitten beast," Neji replied in a cool manner as he began to make his way off the tangle of human limbs._

"_Just stop talking and get yourselves oriented, we still don't know what's going on," Shikamaru's lazy drawl came from far off to the right of everyone._

_It took the team a few minutes but once they were all situated and at attention, they surveyed the area that they had been dropped in. A large cavern seemed to just go on forever in utter blackness. The only visible source of light was a very faint green glow a ways from them._

"_What do you think that is?" Gai asked as he righted himself from the slouched position he had rested into._

"_Only one way to find out," Kakashi said as he began to walk towards it, weapons at the ready._

_Everyone followed suit, ready for any possible attacks or traps. The green light had been much farther than they had anticipated. As they walked closer, the shape of a large cylinder like column became clear. _

_As they moved forward, a loud gasp filled the air. In the column was a figure, suspended in a clear, green liquid. Its arms were spread out to the side with multiple tubes hooked in and holding them up like an invisible cross. The chest was wrapped in what looked like bandages with one long tube connecting to the heart. The eyes were covered with some sort of metal glasses and the lower half of the face was in a clear mask. However, even in such a vulnerable and weakened state, it was apparent who the figure was._

_They had found him, the shadow that terrorized the earth during the war, and the dark raven, who ruled the nights. Here in this dark underground cave, no longer would he be hidden from the world. There in the cylinder, looking like one of Orochimaru's sick and twisted experiments was none other than Uchiha Sasuke._

"From there we sealed him into a scroll and brought him here. There were no more traps, and no one tried to attack us. It was like we were lead to him, like some one wanted us to find him," Shikamaru finished his report.

"Were you able to confirm if it really is him?" Tsunade asked as she circled the column. "This was way too easy to not be a trap."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama, I used the Byakugan to check the chakra signature and it is definitely the Uchiha," Neji spoke out.

Tsunade made a humming noise in the back of her throat as she surveyed the man before her. She could clearly see the multiple battle scars that marred the flesh. Some she could tell her from the rasengan, others were from blades, while others were unidentifiable. At the very least if, this person was not the Uchiha, he had come in close contact with Naruto on multiple occasions.

On that thought, Tsunade looked closer at the rasengan scars. She could easily see the progression of rasengan. There was the first, untainted rasengan, at the back of the left shoulder; the slight swirl marks that came to a center in a neat fashion. At the lower, front torso, she could see the scars of Naruto's wind chakra infused rasengan; the round swirl that moved out to two thin lines. Finally, at the center of the chest, there were the obvious signs of Naruto's Kyuubi infused rasengan. It marred the skin, in a fashion that was a mix between a burn scar and torn flesh in a swirl like pattern. The one rasengan, which he had not used in years, and had only ever used once.

No one could mimic that last scar. Very few had even seen the rasengan that Naruto created with the use of the Bijuu. She knew the only time Naruto had ever used it in battle was against the Uchiha. The destructive power that an accurate hit could cause was instrumental and would result in instant death. No one could survive a hit like that. Naruto really had killed the Uchiha then.

So what in the world was the body doing in such a state? Some one must have wanted it for something. Maybe the mechanics to the poison was in the body? Some one could easily dig up such an obvious grave and ravaged the body. No, that was not right. She had studied the bodies multiple times during the war times.

Her eyes traveled to the metal glasses that covered those cursed eyes. She was never able to get her hands on a specimen with the eyes still in tact. Maybe it was the eyes. That would explain why none of the Uchiha were ever effected. The power in their eyes could have stopped the poison.

She looked the body up and down once more. Now the problem was the thing he was in. She had no idea what it was or what it was doing to the body. Was it sustaining it? On the other hand, was it some sick experiment to keep the Uchiha alive? Again, her eyes scanned the column, until they fell on a little screen right at the bottom. She moved closer and looked it over.

Getting closer she kept moving her eyes up and down from the screen to the body in the column. With a loud gasp, she placed her hands onto the glass and looked at the figure with something akin to wonder in her eyes.

"He…He's alive."

"That's not possible!" Ino screamed. "I saw his body! I felt the life leave him!"

He could not be alive, not after all this time. She had seen his body fall down the waterfall, came upon the scene of crows feeding on his flesh, and watched as her teammates buried it under six feet of dirt. It was simply impossible.

"Well whatever this is, it's keeping his heart beating and his lungs breathing," Tsunade stated as she traced a finger lightly over the small square screen as she stared in awe at the pale lithe figure.

Even in a vat of liquid, his raven locks stubbornly stuck in their trademark duck butt style. No longer was this a teenage boy still awkwardly balancing between adulthood and adolescence. His well-built and chiseled figure was a stark contrast to his current vulnerable and helpless state. As her eyes continued to roam, she took note of the multiple scars that marred the flawlessly marble like skin. Some of them she knew quite well, others she knew must have been from Orochimaru; however, there were some that puzzled her.

Even without out really examining them, she could easily tell they were "fresh." They had to have been acquired within recent months, but not within the last month. There were no signs of any in the first stages of healing. That meant that he really had not died back then, so what ha he been doing for the past three years and what had he done to end up in this thing?

"So what happens now?" Sakura asked as she cautiously walked up next to the Hokage.

Tsunade turned contemplative eyes towards the pink kunoichi, and for one of the few times in her life, she really had no idea. What could they do? They had no clue what exactly this thing was or how it worked. For all they knew it could be killing the Uchiha or it could be healing him. There was no telling the repercussions, if they removed him from it. They needed more information and quickly.

Tsunade looked at the ninja around her, thinking over their options and next possible moves. She would need to send them out once more, to try, and find the underlying cause of this. "Shikamaru, Neji, Gai, Kiba, Shino, Kakashi, Lee, Choji, get ready, you're heading out once more. You need to go back to where ever you found him and see if there is more to this. Get as much information as you can and see if you can find the one who did this," Tsunade ordered, pinning each person with a hard glare that stated failure would not be an option.

"TenTen, I'm assigning you to Naruto's room, assist Yamato in protecting and guarding him. Don't let even a fly get past you," the Hokage demanded in a hard tone.

"Now, as for you three," Tsunade turned her attention to the remaining kunoichi. "You will be on a continuous rotation in here; at least one of you must be in here at all times but never all three of you. We can't allow the Elders to get suspicious about why my three best medical ninja are disappearing instead of trying to stop whatever chaotic mess this could start."

"No one must know of this place, always be discreet, and never breathe a word of this. I don't want to put seals on your tongues but I will, if I have to," Tsunade stated.

A resounding yes echoed around them as the twelve ninja agreed whole-heartedly with their assignments. "Now go," Tsunade dismissed as she left in a swirl of fabric.

From a lone tree overlooking the ANBU training ground, a red-eyed raven took flight. Its piercing gaze surveying the quiet village as it circled around and glided through the sky. Finally, it perched itself on an outstretched arm.

A pale hand came up to stroke the midnight black feathers of the daunting creature.

"So easily are they deceived," a voice like silk uttered followed by a low chuckle.

Eyes as red as blood turned in the direction of Konoha Hospital as a wicked smirk flashed across pale lips, "Just wait a little longer, young fox, the promise will be kept."

_And I couldn't Protect You_

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I'm probably going to extend this chapter, but I wanted to put something out. This chapter was super difficult to write as well. I rewrote it about five times, I had trouble getting what was in my mind into words. So bare with me if this chapter isn't up to par with my other chapters. It'll hopefully be different next chapter.

Yay! Introduction of Sasuke finally! So now I'm sort of stuck. Hopefully I don't take three months to update. Anyway, review pretty please!


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